Latest MLB Pipeline 2025 mock draft sends two towering pitchers to KC Royals

At the rate the Kansas City Royals’ 2025 season is going, fans might shift their focus to 2026—and to any promising prospect storylines—well before August. It’s a rhythm that a generation of Royals fans knows all too well: watch the season fade into division irrelevance, accept that fate, and start debating September call-ups. It’s an exhausting fandom cycle, but it’s still more merciful than watching this team continue to flounder at Kauffman Stadium.

For those already turning their attention to the farm, help is on the way. The upcoming 2025 MLB Draft brings an opportunity to inject more high-end talent into the system—and the Royals are in a rare position with two picks inside the top 30. Few clubs have that kind of early-draft capital, and according to MLB Pipeline’s latest mock draft by Jonathan Mayo, Kansas City could be targeting a pair of high-ceiling arms rather than the big bats.

Latest mock draft has KC Royals investing in pitching towards back of first round

With the 23rd overall pick, Mayo projects the Royals to select left-handed prep pitcher Kruz Schoolcraft. The logic is direct—and feels more certain than most predictions at this stage.

"Yes, giving the Royals a prep lefty might seem too easy in terms of demographics they like, but there is definite interest in the huge southpaw from the Pacific Northwest."

Jonathan Mayo

Schoolcraft, a Tennessee commit, has firmly established himself as one of the top prep arms in the class after shifting his focus exclusively to pitching. Standing 6-foot-8, he once had two-way upside, but it’s his arm that will carry him into the first round. Ranked No. 19 overall by MLB Pipeline, he’d be a slight fall to No. 23—a scenario Royals fans would gladly take.

The towering lefty brings an unusually advanced arsenal for a high schooler. He features both two- and four-seam fastballs in the low-to-mid 90s, occasionally touching 97, and complements them with a developing slider and one of the class’s best changeups. His poise and pitch sequencing helped earn him Oregon’s Gatorade Player of the Year honors. Baseball America noted that “scouting directors viewed [his changeup] as one of the best in the prep class entering the year,” though both the changeup and slider still need refinement, hardly surprising for an 18-year-old.

With the 28th pick, Mayo mocks another pitcher to Kansas City: Alabama right-hander Riley Quick. Mayo didn’t provide commentary beyond the traditional first round, but Quick's upside and raw tools speak for themselves.

Quick is relatively new to pitching full-time, having transitioned from the bullpen in 2023 before undergoing Tommy John surgery. The injury limited his 2025 workload, but he still made 13 starts and posted a solid 3.54 ERA in SEC play. His durability and long-term projection are questions teams will weigh—will he build stamina and develop into a starter, or will his medical history define his path?

On the mound, Quick flashes a lively four-seam fastball that sits in the mid-90s and topped out at 99 MPH this year. While evaluators note that the pitch lacks premium movement—Baseball America suggests he might benefit from leaning into a sinker profile—his high arm slot and promising cutter give him a path to a solid mid-rotation ceiling. In a class loaded with power arms and injury risks, that’s not a bad gamble with a comp pick.