The Royals announce agreements with 16 of their 20 picks
The Royals announced they have signed 16 of their 20 draft picks, although first-round pick Jac Caglianone remains unsigned as of now. Also unsigned are 14th round pick Kyle deGroat, although he indicates he will soon sign, 17th round pick Dane Burns, and 18th round pick Corey Cousin.
Each of the picks in the first ten rounds is assigned a slot value that the Royals can sign a player above or below that number. After that round, each pick has a slot value of $150,000 where anything above that must come out of the bonus pool, but there are no savings if you sign someone below that number.
The Royals have a bonus pool of $13,023,300 to spend on their picks. If a team exceeds their total bonus pool, they will incur penalties. A team that exceeds their bonus pool by 0-5 percent will pay a 75 percent tax on the overage. If a team exceeds their pool by more than 5 percent, they will lose a future first-round pick. If they exceed by more than 10 percent, they will lose a second-round pick as well, plus pay a 100 percent tax on the overage. If a team exceeds their pool by 15 percent, they will lose two first-round picks, plus pay the 100 percent tax on the overage. Last year the Royals exceeded their bonus pool, but not by 5 percent.
The Royals have also signed undrafted free agents:
Colton Becker, Morehead State
Originally from the Cincinnati area, Becker hit .347/.429/.614 with 14 home runs and 29 staels in 59 games for the Eagles in his senior year. He was a four-year starter at shortstop, swiping 57 bases in his career, while being caught stealing just three times. The 23-year-old is a right-handed hitter and hit .299/.387/.351 in 24 games in the MLB Draft summer league this year.
Here is the 2023 Royals draft class, who has signed, and for what amount. We will keep this updated as more news on signings is made available. The deadline to sign players is August 1 at 4 p.m. CT.
