Good morning, Royals fans, and happy draft day! This time tomorrow morning the Kansas City Royals figure to have the rights to Colleyville HS shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who will immediately become one of the top prospects in all of baseball. The Royals farm system has taken a bit of a hit this year with the continued struggles of the core of hitting prospects at Wilmington, and Bobby Witt Jr. figures to give the system a huge boost. We’ll have a ton of draft coverage going on here and on the Twitter page tonight, so make sure to stay tuned to find out all of our thoughts on tonight’s MLB Draft.

One of our newest writers, Shane Emery, interviewed Royals OF prospect Bubba Starling.

Q: Do you ever allow yourself to look back and wonder what it would have been like to play Quarterback at a high D-1 level at a program like Nebraska?

BS: “It would have been a great opportunity. At the time Shawn Watson and Tim Beck coming in they were Offensive Coordinators. I can’t remember who left first or where they went. I know Tim Beck is at Texas now, but it would have been a great opportunity. You know, you think about it sometimes and where a guy is at now if they are in the NFL right now that you played against or played with. Guys like Ameer Abdullah for Nebraska are in the NFL right now, so it is cool to see them doing there thing but I am happy where I am right now.”

With the draft looming, make sure to buy our digital draft guide for just $3. You’ll know all about the top 80 dudes to be drafted in tonight’s draft. 

4. Nick Lodolo, LHP, Texas Christian

Nick Lodolo is quietly becoming my favorite choice for Kansas City at #2 in this June’s draft. At the time of writing this, Lodolo has posted a 1.34 ERA, a 0.90 WHIP, and 74 K to only 12 BB in 60.1 IP. Holding opponents to a .196 BA, Lodolo has completely dominated the college circuit in his junior campaign.

We talked with 247’s Jeff Ellis on the first edition of our podcast to run on the Royals Review SBNation podcast page. Jeff came on to talk about the draft for Kansas City.

(regarding the #44 pick) “The little bit that I have heard seems to be that a college pitcher could be the target.”

The Royals have let it be known that nearly everyone on their roster would be available in a trade.

The trade deadline is July 31, and unlike in past years, there will be no trades allowed after that date, with waiver trades eliminated this season.