Kuntz's son selected by KC in 28th round

KANSAS CITY -- With their 28th-round pick of the First-Year Player Draft on Saturday, the Royals decided to reunite a father and son by selecting Kevin Kuntz, son of first-base coach Rusty Kuntz.

"You're grateful to the Royals for giving him an opportunity," Rusty said. "Kevin worked his tail off this year, and he got better enough that I thought maybe somebody would take a chance on him. Luckily for him and luckily for me, it was the Royals that picked him."

Rusty, a former big league outfielder, was helping out at batting practice on Saturday when he heard the news from the Royals' media-relations staff.

"I'm happy for him," Rusty said. "The person I'm probably most happy for is my wife. You think about all the time, the car rides, the sack lunches, the sitting around for practice all afternoon and then the games and all that kind of stuff and I am never there."

Because of his duties with the Royals, Rusty didn't get to see his son play much, but he got to see him at Kansas last season.

Kevin was a senior at the University of Kansas, where he played shortstop primarily, but he made appearances at every position except pitcher and catcher.

The 23-year-old batted .310, and he led the nation with 30 sacrifice bunts in 47 games this season.