2025 Royals Mock Draft

Guest analyst Preston Farr projects KC's first 7 selections

Photo courtesy of Oaks Christian School/Brian Sheffer

Royals Data Dugout is proud to welcome amateur baseball expert and Royals farm system aficionado Preston Farr to share his predictions for Kansas City’s first seven selections in the 2025 MLB Draft.

The 2025 Amateur Draft (July 13-14) will be unlike just about every other Royals draft in recent memory. Following a historic 2024 turnaround that saw the Royals make the postseason as a Wild Card, the Royals will be picking outside the top 10 for the first time since 2018. In each of the six Rule 4 Drafts since, Kansas City has held selections in the top 10. Those early selections made mock drafts somewhat easier, as there tends to be much more consensus among the top 10 picks leading into the draft. Outside of the top 10, things become murkier. For 2025, the Royals are even further down the board. They’ll pick 23rd this year. It’s just the second time this century that Kansas City’s first pick in the draft falls outside of the top 20, joining 2015 when the club selected Ashe Russell 21st overall.

Much like 2015, the Royals pick late in the first round, but they maintain fairly healthy draft stock early on. After 23, the Royals hold picks 28 (Prospect Promotion Incentive for Bobby Witt Jr.), 61, 71 and 97. Despite picking late in the first round, five picks in the Top 100 is still a healthy starting place that can help the team add a good amount of promising young talent. Plenty can still change between now and July 13 when the draft kicks off, but here’s a mock draft, looking at Kansas City’s first seven selections.

Round 1, Pick 23: 3B Quentin Young (Oaks Christian, CA)

Age: 18 | 6-6, 225

Young is the nephew of two former big leaguers, Delmon and Dmitiri Young. He’s an imposing hitter already at just 18 years old. He hits from the right side and offers double-plus power potential. The swing reminds me a bit of a more raw version of James Wood from the right side, and Young has already shown off impressive exit velocities well above 110 MPH as a teenager. He’s an aggressive hitter at the plate and work will have to continue to refine the hit tool, something the Royals can do well. Defensively, Young has the look of a third baseman at the next level but his tall stature and plus arm could move him to a corner outfield. Young was initially draft eligible for 2026 but reclassified to be available a year earlier in 2025. He’s currently committed to play for Louisiana State University, but taking him here the Royals could almost certainly sign him away from that commitment like they did with Ben Kudrna, Carter Jensen, and Blake Mitchell.

Round PPI, Pick 28: LHP Cameron Appenzeller (Glenwood, IL)

Age: 18 | 6-6, 180

Doubling up on prep youngsters here is a risky proposition for the Royals, but prep arms have become the calling card for Scouting Director Brian Bridges over the years, and Appenzeller fits that mold here. Offering a projectable 6-6 frame, Appenzeller has a smooth, repeatable delivery with a low release point that makes it difficult for opposing hitters. The overall profile is similar to David Shields, whom the Royals selected in the 2024 draft. Appenzeller should be able to continue adding strength to his frame to add more gas behind his fastball, which currently sits 88-92 MPH. He pairs the fastball with a great slider that should be a plus pitch long-term and a good changeup. The entire arsenal is above-average with potential for more. Like Shields a year ago, Appenzeller leads his arsenal with above-average command that should offer a high floor as far as prep arms go.

Round 2, Pick 61: OF Charles Davalan, Arkansas

Age: 21 | 5-8, 170

With two prep prospects already added, we go college bat here in Davalan. It’s a high-floor profile with potential to move. Some have compared Davalan to Drew Gilbert; he will finish his Razorbacks career as one of the best to play for the school. In 65 games in 2025, he slashed .346/.433/.561 with 13 home runs and outstanding contact metrics. The hit tool is 70-grade and there’s enough pop in the profile to matter as well. Nico Hoerner comes to mind as another comp for Davalan, although that assessment may prove a bit lofty over time. For the Royals, Davalan fits exactly what they like to see. He’s a high-contact hitter that handles velocity rather well and can offer some versatility defensively.

Round CBB, Pick 71: LHP J.D. Thompson, Vanderbilt

Age: 21 | 6-0, 185

Thompson struck out 122 hitters in 90 innings of work this season for Vanderbilt. His arsenal is a four-pitch mix, led by a plus fastball that hits the upper-90s with good life. The delivery is easy and relatively low-effort, and Thompson has good feel for his fastball that gets 18 inches of iVB on average. The command is good-not-great but will get Thompson over as a fifth starter at the Big League level if he can continue to maximize his arsenal the way he has at Vandy. With a tick better command and further improvements on the changeup, the ceiling could be mid-rotation.

Round 3, Pick 97: LHP Kyle McCoy, Maryland

Age: 21 | 6-6, 205

The 3.32 ERA across 14 starts isn’t elite or awful, but McCoy’s 7.2 SO/9 with the Terrapins across two seasons should be enough to drop him down draft boards. He’s become a workhorse starter of sorts for Maryland in 2025 but much of the draw centers around what improvements could level up the arsenal and unlock even more from McCoy. He throws a cutter in the upper-80s and a slider with more drop than sweeping action. The fastball has touched the mid-90s at times, but a tweak to improve shape could make it a much better weapon. The Royals strengths in developing arms matches McCoy well and if anyone can unlock more from the big framed lefty, it’s them.

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