Determining how Royals could utilize lottery luck with 6th pick in 2026 MLB Draft

While the initial celebration for the Kansas City Royals’ draft lottery luck has subsided, it will swell again once the 2026 MLB Draft creeps closer on the calendar.

Kansas City hadn’t met or exceeded its lottery odds in its previous two trips, but jumping to picking sixth overall after a winning season was a great note for the organization. That slot comes with more than $2.7 million in additional bonus pool money and gives Kansas City four picks in the top 100.

One KC Royals Reddit user aptly described 2026 mock drafts as kin to fan fiction, and it’s hard not to chuckle at that. There is a whole collegiate season and showcase schedule ahead that will certainly shuffle how prospects stack up, and any list right now is written in pencil, not ink.

Still, the Royals are surely thinking about that draft, and there is no reason fans shouldn’t be either, especially while the winter doldrums waft in the air.

So, let’s say the draft was next week or next month. Who could the AL Central club take? Where do some outlets have the Royals going with such a high pick? Let’s take a look.

How the prospect industry sees the Royals drafting at pick No. 6

MLB Pipeline and OverSlot Baseball: Carson Bolemon, LHP, Southside Christian HS

"Bolemon has four quality pitches with control, physicality and makeup to match, which is why he ranks as this Draft's best pitcher -- high school or college."

Jim Callis, MLB Pipeline

"The Kansas City Royals and Brian Bridges have no issue shooting for the moon in any given draft. They targeted high school players in the 2025 draft and we expect that'll be the case again in 2026 -- an even stronger class for high school pitching than the year prior. Take your pick. Be it Bolemon, Schmidt or Rojas, there will be a high school hurler in this range that the Royals like. Lock it in."

Joe Doyle, OverSlot Baseball

Two very emphatic statements from Callis and Doyle here regarding the Royals and drafting Bolemon. Taking a prep southpaw will not be a popular move at the time, but there is a reason Callis and his peers ranked Bolemon as the class’s top pitcher.

The Wake Forest commit has an expanded pitch arsenal with plus control and the kind of polish that makes evaluators comfortable betting on his upside. He shined brightly in this past year’s 18U World Cup with two dominant starts. He will be older than most prep players in this draft, as he turns 19 next April.

Bleacher Report and Baseball America: Liam Peterson, RHP, Florida

"Peterson is the SP1 leader in the clubhouse to start the season. He’s been a high-upside, power-armed righty since his high school days and began making strides in the command department as a sophomore this spring. With Florida, Peterson owns a 5.18 ERA over 132 innings with a 28.6% strikeout rate and 12% walk rate on the back of a loud fastball-slider combo. "

Baseball America

"Peterson struck out 77 hitters in 63 innings as a freshman while getting hit around a bit with a 6.43 ERA and 15 home runs allowed. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound right-hander took a significant step forward as a sophomore, finishing 8-4 with a 4.28 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 69.1 innings, Another step forward with his command after he trimmed his walk rate from 14.6 to 10.5 percent would solidify his frontline upside and top prospect status."

Joel Reuter, Bleacher Report

Royals fans may not be overjoyed at the idea of drafting another upside-centric Florida pitcher after the results from the 2018 draft class.

The Gators right-hander has some areas to polish this coming season, but his swing-and-miss stuff is very exciting in the SEC gauntlet. Peterson earns the favor of stuff models and projection systems, even if the game-level numbers don’t yet paint the picture of a clear top-10 pick.

Note: I tried DESPERATELY to find a reputable mock draft that had another option outside of these two pitchers, but no dice. The industry is apparently very set on Kansas City drafting more pitching at this point of the process.

3 other draft prospects Royals fans outght to be aware of

Sawyer Strosnider, OF, TCU; Drew Burress, OF, Georgia Tech; Gio Rojas, LHP, Stoneman Douglas HS

Baseball America calls Strosnider “one of the more tooled-out players in the class,” and it is easy to see why. The lefty garnered Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors after posting a 1.070 OPS with 11 home runs in 56 games for the Horned Frogs. The Texas native played primarily right field in Fort Worth last season and has the arm to stick at either corner outfield spot.

Burress is a contender to be the first outfielder off the draft board in 2026. The Georgia Tech star has two 1.100-plus OPS seasons to his name, with 44 home runs across 118 collegiate games. He did struggle in the Cape Cod League last year, casting some doubt on his wood-bat ability. Even so, MLB Pipeline lauded Burress’ work ethic and baseball IQ, while the numbers still point to a solid future MLB outfielder.

Rojas is another prep lefty, but it is easy to dream on the southpaw’s projection. The Miami commit has polished control of his three-pitch arsenal, riding his fastball and slider for success. His four-seam gets on batters in a hurry, while his arm slot gives his slider a sweeping look.