KC can't pass up Newman in 10th round

KANSAS CITY -- The Royals' 10th-round pick, Alex Newman, presented a scouting challenge.

The center fielder from Cypress College in Cypress, Calif., was ineligible this season because he was one credit hour short. Since the Royals first caught wind of Newman, they've only seen him in batting practice and never in a game situation.

Nevertheless, Kansas City took him in the 10th round on Friday after hearing another team was interested in picking him up later in the round.

"Colin Gonzales, who was our scout of the year last year, just took that area over in California. When he went out there in his first couple weeks out, he called me and said, 'I've got a guy, this is our kind of guy.' All we were able to do was go watch him work out," Royals director of scouting Lonnie Goldberg said. "We got wind that he was going to get taken there in the 10th round, and we didn't want to take a chance in letting him go till tomorrow."