MLB Draft 2024: What KC Royals fans need to know

STORY UPDATE: When this story was originally published July 6, the KC Royals held a Competitive Balance Round A draft pick. They no longer have that selection after including it in the July 13 trade with Washington that is bringing reliever Hunter Harvey to Kansas City. The story has been modified accordingly.

With the 2024 MLB All-Star Game slated for July 16 at Texas, KC Royals fans interested in the annual Midsummer Classic are wondering who from Kansas City will represent the club on the American League team. Staff ace Seth Lugo, who's tied for the major league lead in wins going into his scheduled start tonight at Colorado, is a certain pick for AL manager Bruce Bochy's pitching staff, and Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez, who were both finalists for starting spots but didn't get them, have good shots at playing in Arlington.

But while the game is All-Star Week's centerpiece, it's not the only event in which the Royals have a stake. The yearly amateur draft gets its own spotlight beginning Sunday, July 14, at Cowboy Coliseum in Fort Worth's Stockyards.

Here's what Kansas City fans should know about it.

When does the 2024 MLB Draft get underway? When does it end?

This year's three-day, 20-round draft begins July 14 at 7 p.m. ET, resumes at 2 p.m. ET July 15, and continues with the final session starting at 2 p.m. ET July 16. It should end shortly before the All-Star Game begins at 8 p.m. ET.

Day One covers the Rounds 1 and 2, Competitive Balance Rounds A and B, Promotion Incentive Picks, and Compensation Picks. Rounds 3-10 will be held on Day Two, and Rounds 11-20 occur on Day Three.

When do the Royals make their first pick?

Kansas City gets to exercise the first of their 20 selections pretty early in the proceedings. They have the sixth overall pick.

They then have the second pick in each of the subsequent 19 rounds.

Here's the complete round-by-round draft sequence.

Who's eligible to be drafted?

Major league rules control eligibility. Eligible this year are players who've graduated from high school but haven't attended college, junior college players who've finished at least one year, and four-year collegians who are at least 21 or have finished their junior years.

Clubs can't draft players who aren't residents of the United States, its territories, or Canada.

Who was KC's top pick last year?

The Royals rolled the dice on a high school catcher by picking prepster Blake Mitchell with the eighth overall selection. He rose immediately to the top of MLB Pipeline's KC prospect rankings, and remains there today. Through Friday night's games, he's slashing .264/.402/.480 with 11 homers, 34 RBI, and 19 stolen bases in 68 games for Single-A Columbia.

How can KC Royals fans watch the MLB Draft?

ESPN will carry Round 1 live. Coverage then shifts to ESPN+ and MLBN for Rounds 2 and 3, and MLB.com and the MLB app for Rounds 3-20.

Will Kings of Kauffman be covering the MLB Draft?

Absolutely. Besides our stories about potential first-round and other picks that you'll see soon, we'll have breaking coverage of the Royals' first round pick, same-day summaries of Days 1, 2, and 3, and also some post-draft stories.

Stay tuned!