Latest MLB mock draft only strengthens Royals' connection to talented teenaged outfielder

The 2026 MLB Draft is less than two months away and the Kansas City Royals will soon have to decide how to use their draft lottery luck with the sixth overall pick in this year's proceedings. Their farm system has been on the lower-end in quality for years now, so a pick well within the Top 10 could do wonders for them as an organization.

As it stands right now, numerous mock drafts have seen the Royals look to the high school positional class and FanSided's most recent mock in particular has them selecting the electrifying center field prospect in Eric Booth Jr. This comes after ESPN released their predicted selections and had the Royals going the same route at pick six.

Mark Powell of FanSided, stated that the selection of Booth was contingent on the Royals failing to get fellow high school prospect Jacob Lombard, who they had going to Kansas City in an earlier mock. He reports that according to FanSided's Eric Cole, there's interest from Kansas City in Lombard as they "value what [he] brings to the table".

However, you can't go wrong with someone of Booth's skillset who, as per MLB Pipeline's scouting grades, is an elite speed threat with above average 55-grade hitting and fielding tools. As Powell describes him, he "isn't a bad backup plan" to Lombard.

"Booth Jr. is more of a sure thing than Lombard, and should everything click—meaning his power and speed combination provides the Royals with the outfield of their dreams—he has All-Star-level upside," Powell wrote.

Royals haven't had center fielder to be truly excited about since Lorenzo Cain

If Booth is the pick, then the Royals would certainly hope he can hit-major league pitching, which Powell pointed out as being his biggest question mark. Because at the end of the day, since Lorenzo Cain's departure after 2017, the Royals haven't sported an outfielder nearly as decorated as him.

Cain goes down as a franchise legend and has been a benchmark to those roaming the premium outfield position since then. Not only was he a key figure in their 2015 World Series winning lineup, as well as the AL pennant-winning one the year prior, but he's a two-time All-Star (one with Kansas City) and MVP finalist in '15, finishing third in voting. Beyond the accolades even, he was consistent threat for hitting above .300 and swiping 30 bags and had the defensive chops to finish above the 6.0 fWAR threshold at his best.

Since then, the highlights in that position have been some defensive specialists who are Gold Glove-caliber in Michael A. Taylor and current center fielder Kyle Isbel. However, those aren't exactly names that a team can build a lineup around, rather they are solid complementary pieces for the lower-half of the order.

This means if Booth can live up to the hype he's generating as a 17-year-old prep star, should he fall to the Royals at sixth, not only could he be a transformative name to this farm system, but he could be someone Royals fans can hope will one day finally take the reins that Cain left vacant nearly a decade ago.

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