KANSAS CITY, Mo. (June 3, 2019) – The Kansas City Royals made three selections on the first day of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft, including the second overall pick, Bobby Witt Jr., a shortstop from Colleyville Heritage High School (Texas).

Witt Jr. hit .500 (63-for-126) with 37 extra-base hits and 38 games as a senior, earning Gatorade National High School Baseball Player of the Year honors.

He is the son of right-handed pitcher Bobby Witt, who played 16 seasons with seven different teams in the Majors from 1986-2001, and was the third overall pick by Texas in the 1985 Draft. The Witts are the ninth father-son duo selected in the first round and the first to be selected within the first three picks. They pass Tom Grieve (6th overall in 1968) and Ben Grieve (2nd overall in 1994) as the highest-drafted father-son duo.

In the second round (44th overall), the Royals selected shortstop Brady McConnell from the University of Florida. McConnell, 21, has hit .332 with 15 home runs and 48 RBI in 59 games with the Gators this season as a draft-eligible sophomore. He was selected by Cincinnati in the 33rd round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft, but did not sign.

In the Competitive Balance Round B, Kansas City selected right-handed pitcher Alec Marsh, 70th overall, from Arizona State University. Marsh, 21, went 9-3 with a 3.17 ERA (34 ER in 96.2 IP) in 16 outings this season, including three double-digit strikeout games. His efforts earned him a spot on the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List, and the Collegiate Baseball Hall of Fame’s Watch List for National Pitcher of the Year.

The Draft continues tomorrow with rounds 3-10 starting at 12:05 p.m. CT.

For more information, members of the media may contact the Royals Media Relations Department at (816) 921-8000.