Happy Draft Day ladies and gents! The day is finally here, a day in which the Kansas City Royals have a chance to reload their farm system without trading a single big league player. Whit Merrifield, Danny Duffy, and Mike Moustakas don’t have to go anywhere today for the Royals to reboot their prospects list, because IT’S DRAFT DAY!

In honor of draft day, we here at Royals Farm Report are bringing you one final mock draft, as an example of the awesome things that could happen for the Royals tonight. Without further ado, here is our 3rd and final mock draft for 2018:

1. DET – Joey Bart, C, Georgia Tech
2. SF – Casey Mize, RHP, Auburn
3. PHI – Alec Bohm, 3B, Wichita State
4. CHW – Nick Madrigal, SS, Oregon State
5. CIN – Brady Singer, RHP, Florida
6. NYM – Johnathan India, 3B, Florida
7. SD – Matthew Liberatore, LHP, Mountain Ridge HS
8. ATL – Nolan Gorman, 3B, Sandra Day O’Connor HS
9. OAK – Xavier Edwards, SS, North Broward Prep HS
10. PIT – Jarred Kelenic, OF, Waukesha West HS
11. BAL – Cole Winn, RHP, Orange Lutheran HS
12. TOR – Connor Scott, OF, Plant HS
13. MIA – Triston Casas, 1B, American Heritage HS
14. SEA – Ryan Rolison, LHP, Ole Miss
15. TEX – Grayson Rodriguez, RHP, Central Heights HS
16. TB – Carter Stewart, RHP, Eau Gallie HS
17. LAA – Nick Schnell, OF, Roncalli HS
18. KC – Travis Swaggerty, OF, Southern Alabama
19. STL – Cole Wilcox, RHP, Heritage HS
20. MIN – Trevor Larnach, OF, Oregon State
21. MIL – Noah Naylor, C, St. Joan of Arc Catholic Secondary
22. COL – Mason Denaburg, RHP, Merritt Island HS
23. NYY – Anthony Siegler, C, Cartersville HS
24. CHC – Jackson Kowar, RHP, Florida
25. AZ – Greyson Jenista, OF, Wichita State
26. BOS – Ethan Hankins, RHP, Forsyth Central HS
27. WSH – Shane McClanahan, LHP, South Florida
28. HOU – Alek Thomas, OF, Mt. Carmel HS
29. CLE – Steele Walker, OF, Oklahoma
30. LAD – Lenny Torres, RHP, Beacon HS
31. TB – Jordyn Adams, OF, Green Hope HS
32. TB – Brice Turang, SS, Santiago HS
33. KC – Kumar Rocker, RHP, North Oconee HS
34. KC — Jordan Groshans, 3B, Magnolia HS
35. CLE – Gunnar Hoglund, RHP, Dayspring Christian Academy
36. PIT – Nick Decker, OF, Seneca HS
37. BAL – JT Ginn, RHP, Brandon HS
38. SD – Adam Kloffenstein, RHP, Magnolia HS
39. AZ – Owen White, RHP, Jesse C Carson HS
40. KC – Kris Bubic, LHP, Stanford

Insta-Reactions:

1. This has been by far my favorite haul for the Royals in our three mock drafts. I drafted for the central division teams this time, so there is some obvious bias there, but, wowsers. In our second mock draft, Patrick had Travis Swaggerty at number 4 overall to the White Sox, and this time he fell all the way to KC’s first pick at 18. Swaggerty is a top 10 prospect in this draft in my opinion, and there’s a real chance he could be available at 18 as a sort of “under-slot” option, given that he is a college kid. The combination of Rocker (my personal favorite target for the Royals) and Groshans at 33 and 34 is fantaaaaaaastic and Kris Bubic is one of Patrick’s favorite arms in the draft. This kind of night would turn the Royals farm system on it’s head, and is one of the reasons I am so excited for this year’s draft.
2. Yes, I picked the central, so let me explain my non-Casey Mize at #1 pick. I am not a huge Casey Mize fan. I think the kid is fantastic. His stuff is really good and he doesn’t walk a ton of hitters. But I question how it will translate to pro-ball when he faces professional hitters that have a better idea of what they’re seeing. Maybe I’m crazy, but Mize wouldn’t even be a top 5 prospect for me in this draft. Joey Bart, on the other hand, is debatably a top 5 bat in this draft and the best defensive catcher available. You could be looking at a Buster Posey type of player here that doesn’t come around often. Casey Mize will probably go 1.1 tonight, but he wouldn’t if I was Detroit’s GM.
3. There was a ton of movement in the 12-40 range between our 2nd and 3rd mocks, which may signify a wild night tonight. If you’ve never watched the MLB Draft before, do yourself a favor and tune in tonight, because this could shape up as one of the crazier drafts in recent memory.