Royals sign 24 picks, including No. 34 Lynch
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KANSAS CITY -- The Royals have signed 24 of their Draft picks, including No. 34 pick Daniel Lynch, assistant general manager J.J. Picollo confirmed Sunday night.
All 24 picks have reported to the Royals' Spring Training facility in Surprise, Ariz.
Lynch, a 6-foot-6 junior left-hander from the University of Virginia who was ranked the No. 77 prospect in the Draft per MLB Pipeline, signed for $1.7 million (the assigned pick value was $2,066,700), according to Jim Callis. Lynch was taken with Kansas City's second pick in the Competitive Balance Round A.
"We're very excited to have him sign," Picollo said. "He's a big kid, kind of lean, but very strong and really has a sense of what he's doing on the mound."
According to MLB Pipeline, Lynch, who was one of five college pitchers taken by the Royals on the first day of the Draft, has high upside: "He commands his fastball, which sits in the 88-92 mph range in most starts, often touching 93 mph. His above-average changeup, thrown with excellent deception and late sink, is his best secondary offering."
Other signings included Memphis right-hander Jonathan Bowlan (No. 58 overall), UNLV outfielder Kyle Isbel (No. 94), Mercer left-hander Austin Cox (fifth round), Kentucky right-hander Zach Haake (sixth round), Central Arkansas right-hander Tyler Gray (seventh round), Florida State left fielder Jackson Lueck (eighth round), University of Central Oklahoma left-hander Austin Lambright (10th round), Creighton catcher Michael Emodi (11th round) and Chapman University (Calif.) right-hander Christian Cosby (14th round).
The rest who signed: Delaware right-hander Kyle Hinton (16th round), Georgia Highlands College right-hander Noah Bryant (17th round), Virginia Military Institute catcher Nathan Eaton (21st round), UNC Greensboro left-hander Bryce Hensley (22nd round), Florida Gulf Coast left-hander Josh Dye (23rd round), Central Arkansas outfielder Hunter Strong (25th round), Texas-Arlington right-hander Daniel James (26th round), Jacksonville State left-hander Derrick Adams (27th round), Florida State first baseman Rhett Aplin (28th round), Florida International right-hander Andres Nunez (29th round), Oregon infielder Kyle Kasser (30th round), Central Arkansas catcher William Hancock (31st round), San Diego infielder Brhet Bewley (32nd round) and Hofstra left-hander Ted Cillis (33rd round).