MLB All-Star Game, events packed with KC Royals action

STORY UPDATE: When this story was originally published July 12, the KC Royals had a Competitive Balance Round A pick in this year's draft. They no longer have that selection after including it in their July 13 trade with Washington that is bringing reliever Hunter Harvey to Kansas City. The story has been modified accordingly.

This has been an interesting week for the KC Royals. It started Sunday with a sweep-avoiding victory over Colorado, continued with two straight days off — one scheduled, the other not — followed by an impressive doubleheader sweep at St. Louis, and then another off day Thursday.

Now come the most important games of the week. The Royals begin a three-game series in Boston tonight, the last action they'll see before the All-Star Break begins when Sunday's big league games end. At stake for the club is positioning for the season's post-Break stretch run — the American League Central's third-place team enters tonight's action seven games behind first-place Cleveland and 2.5 behind second-place Minnesota, but trails the Red Sox by only a game in the increasingly-hot AL Wild Card race.

But the three-game Fenway Park set isn't the only Royals-related action getting underway this weekend. Instead, MLB's All-Star Week festivities involving the organization kick off Saturday and run through Tuesday night's All-Star Game at Texas.

Saturday: Futures Game features 2 hot KC Royals prospects

Baseball's annual Futures Game pits top American League prospects against promising National League minor leaguers in a seven-inning game Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. CDT with MLBN carrying the game live.

A pair of Kansas City minor leaguers are on the AL roster. Double-A Northwest Arkansas outfielder Gavin Cross, to whom we recently gave a good grade for his progress following his first-round draft selection two years ago, and High-A Quad Cities pitcher Ben Kudrna were recently named to the team.

For a more comprehensive look at Cross, Kudrna, and the Futures contest, check out our Jacob Milham's recent story here.

Sunday: The MLB Draft begins

Three straight days sure to capture the attention of future-looking Royals fans kick off Sunday evening when the 2024 MLB Draft starts in Fort Worth. Kansas City picks sixth in the first round, then second in all the other 19 regular rounds.

The Draft continues Monday afternoon and ends Tuesday.

Our Thomas Gauvain summarizes KC priorities and potential picks here. And you can find even more draft details here.

Monday: The Home Run Derby with Bobby Witt Jr.

That pretty much says it all — this year's Home Run Derby participants include Witt who, in his third big league season, will make his first Derby and All-Star Game appearances.

The contest begins at 7 p.m. CDT on ESPN. Witt will compete against Cleveland's Jose Ramírez, Baltimore's Gunnar Henderson, Texas' Adolis García, Philadelphia's Alec Bohm, Atlanta's Marcell Ozuna, the Dodgers' Teoscar Hernández, and the Mets' Pete Alonso.

For more on Witt and the Home Run Derby, take a look at our recent story about both.

Tuesday: The MLB All-Star Game

The main event — the All-Star Game itself — is scheduled for Tuesday night at Globe Life Field, home of the host Rangers. The contest starts at 7 p.m. CDT and will be televised on FOX.

Salvador Perez, who'll be making his ninth All-Star appearance, joins first time Royal All-Stars Witt, Seth Lugo, and Cole Ragans on AL manager Bruce Bochy's roster.

Need more information about every All-Star Game-related event? MLB.com has some right here.

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