The MLB Draft Lottery in early December didn’t go the Kansas City Royals way. With an 18.3% chance of earning the first overall pick, the Royals were selected to pick sixth in the 2024 MLB Draft in July. The top ten rounded out as follows:

1. Cleveland Guardians
2. Cincinnati Reds
3. Colorado Rockies
4. Oakland Athletics
5. Chicago White Sox
6. Kansas City Royals
7. St. Louis Cardinals
8. Los Angeles Angels
9. Pittsburgh Pirates
10. Washington Nationals

There was a lot of disappointment from Royals fans and rightfully so. For a small market team that can’t compete for big-time free agents like the Shohei Ohtanis and Cody Bellingers of the world because of financial constraints, the MLB Draft is an opportunity to grow the farm with the hopes they can build from within. Major League Baseball implemented the draft lottery to try to keep teams from tanking on purpose. 

Losing out on a top-three pick means they are likely losing out on the opportunity to secure a big-time college bat at the top of the class like Nick Kurtz, Travis Banzanna, and J.J. Wetherholt. That doesn’t mean there aren’t other talented players in the pool that the Royals can select at number six. It is early so this could easily change as soon as the high school and college seasons start, but here are four names to keep an eye on as potential fits for the Royals.

Mike Sirota, OF, Northeastern

Sirota is probably my favorite sleeper in the entire draft. A lot of the reasons he seems to get overlooked is because he’s at a mid-major in Northeastern. There were questions on whether he could handle better competition but he’s shown he can in multiple summers in Cape Cod. Sirota is a sum-of-all-parts guy at the plate and does about everything you’d like to see right. With a combination of plate discipline, a feel for the strike zone, and power, Sirota is one of the more polished hitters in this class. On top of his offense, he’s a plus runner who can track balls well in center field. That speed comes with an above-average arm and fielding ability that leads you to believe he will stick in center for the long term. The well-rounded bat and athleticism in the outfield will likely have teams calling early. Depending on the type of spring he has, he could be a very good option for the Royals at #6. Sirota would likely be a safer bet pick here. 

Vance Honeycutt, OF, North Carolina 

Tools, tools, tools. That sums up everything you need to know about Vance Honeycutt. Yes, I’ve listed back-to-back outfielders because the Royals’ biggest weakness seems to be a true everyday centerfielder and both of these top draft prospects mentioned seem like they can stick in center. The biggest difference between Honeycut and Sirota is with Honeycutt you are looking at basically 60s across the board in all his tools but the hit tool. Honeycutt is not nearly as polished at the plate as Sirota. He has struggled with swing-and-miss issues throughout his career.

The good news is he cut his strikeout rate from 30% in his freshman year to 20% in his sophomore year according to MLB Pipeline. The biggest issue is his numbers went down drastically as a result. He hit 25 homers in his freshman year and only 12 in his sophomore year. He also saw a dip in hits, stolen bases, and RBI. To be fair, he did play 14 fewer games. Regardless of the hit tool issues, Honeycutt is a very fun prospect. He’s got insane speed to go along with plus raw power. The speed gives him incredible range in the outfield and he will constantly make the web gem plays. He’s got a plus arm to go along with it. If he can get the hit tool to above average, he could become an absolute stud. There is some risk in the profile, but five-tool or near five-tool prospects don’t grow on trees.

Brody Brecht, RHP, Iowa

Brecht is one of the most intriguing pitchers in the draft. He was recruited to Iowa as a two-sport athlete playing both football and baseball. Before coming to Iowa, he was named the Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year and went 10-0 with a 0.57 ERA and 126 strikeouts as a senior. When he went to Iowa he was focused on both football and baseball, but switched to baseball full-time. You’re looking at TWO plus-plus pitches in his fastball and slider. A fastball that sits 96-99 mph and can get up to 101 mph. The gun even once got him up to 104 mph.

The fastball has an insane shape and run to it. His slider is 87-89 mph and darts across the zone. The biggest issue for Brecht is his control. Last year, he had 61 walks in 77 innings pitched. Hopefully, now that he has his attention fully on baseball, he can start to iron out some of the control issues. If the Royals are looking for an arm with two high-quality pitches, Brecht is the guy. With the “Raid the Zone” mentality they pushed across the entire organization, they might be able to help Brecht fix some of those control issues. 

Cam Caminiti, LHP, Saguaro High School

After taking Blake Mitchell and Blake Wolters in the 2023 draft, I am sure the last thing Royals fans want to see is another prep player as a possible first-rounder. Caminiti was originally a member of the 2025 class but was reclassified and is one of the younger prep prospects in the 2024 class as he will still only be 17 years old on draft day. He’s a cousin of the later former big leaguer Ken Caminiti and is committed to LSU. The lefty from Saguaro High School in Arizona has four average to above-average pitches you can dream on as he continues to develop.

His fastball is currently his best pitch. He’s already gotten it up to 96-97 mph but it has been sitting in the low 90s. There are a lot of projections that think he will be sitting in the mid-90s sooner than later. He pairs it with two breaking balls, a curveball and slider, and a change-up that has some decent life to it. Like most prep pitchers, he needs to grow some size and iron out his secondaries, but he’s about as intriguing as it can get for a prep pitcher.