Baseball America thinks the Royals are going to take another prep player in its latest mock draft.
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stor...aa-tournament/
6. Royals — Bryce Rainer, SS, Harvard-Westlake HS, Studio City, Calif.
The Royals have had the most smoke about a prep player of any of the other teams picking inside the top 10. Earlier in the spring Konnor Griffin was the name frequently mentioned with them, though over the last week or so I’ve heard that Rainer might be both the preferred target for Kansas City and more likely to be the first high school hitter off the board.
There are cases for both Griffin and Rainer as the top high school player in the class—the two are ranked back-to-back on the BA board—but model-heavy teams might prefer Griffin due to the fact that he’s nearly a full year younger than Rainer. Rainer does have the lefthanded hitting shortstop profile from Southern California, however, and you probably wouldn’t have to fight too hard to convince scouts that demographic has a better success rate than a prep hitter from Mississippi.
I’ve not heard this specifically, but would anyone be shocked if new scouting director Brian Bridges went after a prep pitcher he really liked in this spot? Given his track record with that demographic I’m not sure I would be—though it could simply be too early for that here at six given the talent available.