KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Royals made two selections on the first day of the 2020 First-Year Player Draft, including the fourth overall pick, Asa Lacy, a left-handed pitcher from Texas A&M University.
Lacy is the fourth player chosen fourth overall in Royals history, joining Christian ColĂłn (2010, Mike Stodolka (2000) and Jeff Austin (1998). In the Competitive Balance Round A (32nd overall, the Royals selected Nick Loftin, a shortstop from Baylor University.
Lacy, 21, is the highest-selected baseball player in Aggies history, surpassing Jeff Granger, who the Royals selected fifth overall in 1993. Lacy went 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA (2 ER in 24.0 IP, 46 strikeouts (17.3 K/9, just eight walks (3.0 BB/9) and a .111 opponents’ average in four starts as a junior, prior to the season being suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak. In his second start of the season on Feb. 21 vs. Army, Lacy recorded a career-high 14 strikeouts in just 5.0 innings.
Loftin, 21, was named preseason Big 12 Player of the Year by Baseball America and hit .298 in 14 games, before the 2020 season was suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak. As a sophomore in 2019, Loftin made hit .323 with a .502 slugging percentage in 53 starts – all at shortstop – for the Bears. He was named First-Team All-Big 12, and started games at five positions (shortstop, second base, third base, left field and right field) for the U.S. collegiate national team last summer.