SURPRISE, Ariz.—The Kansas City Royals selected five players on the first day of the 2026 First-Year Player Draft.
With the sixth overall pick in the 1st round, the Royals selected outfielder Zion Rose. An advisory with information regarding a Zoom call with Rose will be shared shortly.
With the 30th overall selection—as part of the Competitive Balance Round A—the Royals selected right-handed pitcher Taylor Rabe out of the University of Mississippi.
With the 56th overall pick in the 2nd round, the Royals selected RHP Jack Slightom out of Lyons Township High School (Ill.). They used the 91st pick selection in Round 3 to select LHP Maxx Yehl from West Virginia University. With their final selection on Day 1 of the Draft, they selected OF Dominic Battista out of Oswego East High School (Ill.) with the 119th pick in Round 4.
Rose, 21, is a native of Chicago, Ill., who was named to the First-Team All-ACC as a junior this season for the Cardinals after slashing .417/.491/.646 (60-for-144) with 13 doubles, 1 triple, 6 home runs, 24 stolen bases and 47 RBI across 36 games, 22 of which were multi-hit efforts. Of his 201 career hits at Louisville, 71 (35.3%) went for extra bases (38 doubles, 9 triples and 24 HR). He became the 11th 1st-round pick out of Louisville in program history (first to the Royals) and the highest pick out of Louisville since Henry Davis went No. 1 overall to the Pirates in 2021.
Rabe, 21, went 5-3 with a 3.55 ERA (30 ER in 76.0 IP) in 17 games (11 starts) as a sophomore for the University of Mississippi this season, helping lead the Rebels to a College World Series appearance...he finished 7th in the SEC in ERA, while limiting opponents to a .221 batting average. He struck out 105 batters this year, while issuing just 15 walks, and his 7.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio led the SEC and was the 4th-best clip in Division I. He was named to the Lincoln Regional All-Tournament Team this year after tossing 6.0 innings of 1-run ball with 9 strikeouts on May 30 at Nebraska.
Slightom, 18, posted a 0.37 ERA in 8 starts (37.0 IP) as a senior at Lyons Township High School (Ill.) this season, allowing just 10 hits and 7 walks, while striking out 73 batters, which marked significant improvements across the board from his junior year, when he went 5-4 with a 3.28 ERA with 24 BB and 49 strikeouts in 42.2 IP. He received Illinois Class 4A All-State honors from the Illinois Baseball Coaches Association and was ranked as the No. 3 high school player in the state of Illinois, according to Prep Baseball and Perfect Game, while Slightom was listed as the No. 1 overall high school pitcher in Illinois.
Yehl, 22, went 9-3 with a 2.13 ERA (23 ER in 97.0 IP) in 18 starts this season as a redshirt junior for West Virginia University, where he was named a unanimous All-American. He was named the 2026 Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, and he was one of five finalists for National Pitcher of the Year. He struck out 112 hitters in 97.0 innings (10.4 K/9) for the Mountaineers this season, while walking only 26 of his 402 batters faced (6.5% walk rate). His additional accolades in 2026 included being named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and being selected for the All-Big 12 First Team.