Kansas City Royals: Two Royals draft picks receive some national love

The Kansas City Royals were considered to have one of the better drafts this year. Two months later, two of the recently drafted players are catching the attention of the national media.

Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com wrote an article with the 2018 Draft picks that are off to a hot start. The Kansas City Royals are one of 14 teams represented on this list, and one of five times to be on the list more than once.

The two players the Royals had that made the list was lefty Daniel Lynch and outfielder Kyle Isbel. Both are well deserving of making the list.

Daniel Lynch – Royals 8th ranked prospect

Lynch was taken 34th overall with the second compensation pick in the first-round. The 21-year-old lefty from the University of Virginia has been dominating the lower levels. He started the year with the Rookie-Level Burlington Royals but was only there for a short time. He made three starts, going 11.1 innings, but allowed just two earned runs. His 1.59 ERA and 14 strikeouts to two walks quickly forced the Royals to promote him to the Royals Single-A Lexington Legends.

While in Lexington, Lynch has picked up right where he left off. He’s made five starts, going 24.0 innings and allowing just four earned runs. That’s good enough for another eye-popping 1.50 ERA to go along with his 24 strikeouts and five walks.

Between both levels, opponents have been hitting .209 against him in Burlington and .270 against him in Lexington. He also posted a 0.97 WHIP in Burlington and currently has a 1.21 WHIP in Lexington.

Combined, Lynch has a 1.53 ERA over eight starts and 35.1 innings. To go along with that he has 38 strikeouts and seven walks. That’s nearly a 5.5:1 strikeout to walk ratio, with a staggering 1.8 BB/9 and a 9.7 K/9 too.

Simply put, Lynch is dominating. It wouldn’t be surprising if Lynch found himself being promoted to Wilmington sooner, rather than later. Depending on how he finishes the year, Lynch could be put on the fast track to the big league team as well.

Kyle Isbel –  Royals 14th ranked prospect

The Royals third-round pick, Kyle Isbel, is still dominating too. I wrote an article recently about how Isbel might be the real deal and that still hasn’t changed.

Isbel is currently hitting .270/.356/.454 with the Lexington Legends (Single-A) but was hitting .381/.454/.610 with the Idaho Falls Chukars (Rookie-Level) before his promotion.

Combined, Isbel is hitting .339/.417/.542 on the season with 15 doubles, two triples, and five home runs. What I had mentioned earlier in the article though that was impressive is his walks compared to strikeouts and stolen bases. Isbel currently has 33 strikeouts compared to 22 walks and has stolen 18 of 21 bases.

While Isbel has struggled over his last six games, hitting .160/.241/.240 during that stretch, he is still one of the better prospects the Royals have.

With his ability to be patient at the plate, as well as having a have a productive bat, Isbel could be a big part of the Royals future.

Final Thoughts

These two individuals are very deserving of making this list. They have started forcing their names into the conversation about productive players the Royals could use in the future, as well as potential core players.

The draft class the Royals had should bring a lot of excitement to fans. For most drafts, teams hope that a small handful pan out to help the team win. With how some of these players have started, the Royals might have more prospects pan out than what a normal draft class would.

Keep an eye on these two prospects. They look to stand a good chance of making noise at the MLB level sooner, rather than later. What do you think?