Potential 2020 MLB Draft crushes for the KC Royals

Catching is a position the KC Royals need to continue to feed into the pipeline in case the current mix of minor leaguers do not pan out but the outfield prospects have question marks as well.

One college player who jumps out is the University of Arkansas standout Heston Kjerstad.  He raked at the plate his freshman and sophomore seasons and was off to an even better start in 2020 before the shutdown.  All this while playing in the very competitive SEC.

In his two full years, he batted .332 and .331 respectively and in 16 games this spring Kjerstad was hitting a ridiculous .448.  He also reached base at greater than a .400 clip in 2018 and 2019 while clobbering 14 and 15 home runs.  He already had six bombs in 2020 including two multi-homer games.

At 6’3″ and 205 pounds, the left-handed-hitting Kjerstad is solidly built and would be a great corner outfielder.  With Alex Gordon soon to be departed from the team, another bat from the left side of the plate with the potential to hit the gaps and over the fence will be needed. The majority of outfielders in the top 30 prospects for Kansas City are speed and average guys but limited pop in their bat.

Just a few of his honors coming into this college season were being named a First Team Preseason All-American, Preseason All-SEC First Team Outfielder, and the Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week on February 18th.  D1 Baseball also awarded him the best hitter in the SEC in the abbreviated season.

While not mentioned as someone who the Royals would grab at #4, a player who could be MLB ready in just a couple years and the lack of a long term outfield solution for Kansas City should make Kjerstad an attractive option.

If the KC Royals would like a catcher who would be ready in the near future to permanently move Salvy to a less taxing role, this college stud is a great option.

Not only is the power potential there, but a contact hitter with a good eye at the plate has also improved tremendously on his defense while at North Carolina State.  Patrick Bailey was well on his way to a third consecutive double-digit home run total before COVID struck.

At 6’2″ and 207 pounds, Bailey is a sturdy presence behind the plate, able to communicate well with pitchers and put himself in a position to frame balls and keep runners honest.

Instead, elite defensive catchers such as Bailey consistently focus their body weight toward the center of the plate and receive pitches with an upward motion, creating positive momentum toward second base on throws. – greensboro.com

He is unique in that he is a switch-hitting catcher as well – and good at it.  He has homered from both sides of the plate in a game twice while at North Carolina State.  Despite the reduced season, he still managed to smash three grand slams in 2020.

Some of his accolades include being named ACC Freshman of the Year and All-ACC second team in 2018.  Bailey’s sophomore year brought a First-Team All-ACC award and Collegiate Baseball’s Third Team All-American recognition.

The Royals still have some talented catchers in the pipeline who could be key cogs at Kauffman Stadium but the verdict is still out.  Bailey would provide an important measuring stick coming in with three years of Division I college baseball in his back pocket.

The blistering numbers this Louisville Cardinal posted his last two seasons in college show a bright and perhaps sudden future in the big leagues.

Much attention has been put on the pitching draft picks Dayton Moore and his team made in 2018.  In fact, many could be on the KC Royals roster this year or next.

Reid Detmer may be ready to join them very soon if he is chosen by the team.  He made tremendous strides from 2018 to 2019 lowering his ERA by over 2 points while posting a 13-4 record. He also recorded one less walk from the prior year even though he threw nearly 60 more frames.

He dominated 2019 with a WHIP under 1.00 and whiffed an unbelievable 167 batters in just 113 1/3 innings.  Opponents batted a measly .177 off of Reid.  As impossible as it sounds, 2020 looked to be even better.  In just four starts his ERA was 1.23 and he struck out 48 batters in 22 frames while issuing only six walks.

While Detmers’ fastball sits mostly in the 90-92 range, his plus curveball – which has been called the best in all of college baseball – clocks in between 73-77 mph, making his heater tougher to hit. “It’s a big league curveball,” one scout said. – mlb.com

While the 2020 draft class will most likely not yield the type of arms the Royals grabbed in 2018, Detmer could be ready to join that class or just a year behind if Kansas City were to draft him.  Having a high-caliber southpaw on the team would be a valuable weapon against tough left-handed hitters in the American League Central.

While few expect these players to be in the top 4 picks during next week’s amateur draft, they are very solid players who could impact the KC Royals relatively quickly.