Royals pick Staumont to cap Day 1 of Draft
KANSAS CITY -- The Royals selected right-hander Josh Staumont from Azusa Pacific University (Calif.) in the second round with the 64th pick overall on Monday night in the MLB Draft.
The selection was the third and final pick on Day 1 for Kansas City after taking high school right-handers Ashe Russell and Nolan Watson from the same Indiana township earlier with the 22nd and 33rd picks, respectively.
The Draft continues on Tuesday with Rounds 3-10. The MLB.com preview show begins at 11:30 a.m. CT, with exclusive coverage of Rounds 3-10 beginning at noon.
Staumont works with basic mechanics and an upright delivery that produces a regular mid-90s fastball that can touch 100. He makes secondary use of a power breaking ball that complements his 6-foot-2 build.
Scouting reports indict Staumont's biggest issue is his command with his tendency to overthrow and miss pitches on the lower arm side. As a result, he posts a high walk rate (54 walks in 68 1/23 innings).
Staumont, 21, finished his junior season 6-2 with a 3.67 ERA, a .155 average against and a team-high 109 strikeouts. He also posted a team-high 12 wild pitches and eight hit batsmen.
"Last year, we took some high-profile high school pitchers as well," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. "We're intentionally trying to stockpile as many arms as we can for the future."
The Royals haven't taken three right-handers with their first three picks since selecting Kyle Snyder (No. 7 overall), Mike MacDougal (No. 25) and Jay Gehrke (No. 32) in 1999.