KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The Kansas City Royals selected 10 players on the third and final day of the 2024 First-Year Player Draft.
In total, the Royals selected 15 pitchers, two outfielders, one infielder, one catcher and a two-way player. Of their 20 picks, 16 were from the college ranks and four were high school players, including one player who graduated from high school in 2023 and took a gap year in 2024.
With the 317th overall pick in the 11th round, the Royals selected right-handed pitcher Zachary Cawyer out of Texas Christian University. Cawyer, 21, went 6-2 with a 5.20 ERA (21 ER in 36.1 IP) and 39 strikeouts (24.8 K%) across 24 appearances (1 start) this season at TCU. He earned First-Team Academic All-Big 12 honors as well as an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention after the season. Zachary pitched in 9 games for Mahoning Valley in the MLB Draft League, spinning 13.1 scoreless innings with 16 strikeouts (34.0 K%) and 3 walks. Prior to transferring to TCU, he pitched two seasons at McLennan Community College (Texas), where he posted a 3.14 ERA (17 ER in 48.2 IP) as a sophomore and earned CSC Academic All-District honors, after missing most of his freshman season due to injury.
With the 347th overall pick in the 12th round, the Royals selected right-handed pitcher Tommy Molsky out of Oklahoma State University. Molsky, 21, pitched in just one season at OSU, where he went 6-3 with 66 strikeouts (33.7 K%) and just 27 walks (13.8%) in 19 games (2 starts). Prior to pitching for the Cowboys, he played two seasons at Penn State University, where he appeared in 31 games (18 starts) and struck out 83 hitters in 95.1 innings. Molsky is also a two-time participant in the Cape Cod League, where he pitched in 15 combined games (3 starts) for Chatham from 2022-23, and struck out 36 batters in 40.1 innings pitched while earning 3 wins.
With the 377th overall pick in the 13th round, the Royals selected infielder Sam Kulasingam out of the United States Air Force Academy (Colo.). Kulasingam, 23, slashed .323/.416/.498 (74-for-229, .914 OPS) in 55 games at the Air Force Academy as a senior this season. Over his four-year career, he posted a 1.067 OPS with a .377/.470/.598 (305-for-810) slashline in 206 games, while also walking (118) more than he struck out (102). He won back-to-back Tony Gwynn Mountain West Conference Player of the Year Awards from 2022-23, joining C.J. Cron, Mitch Garver and DJ Peterson as the only multi-MWC Player of the Year winners. He was teammates with 2024 All-Star Game National League starting pitcher Paul Skenes at the Academy from 2021-22. Sam has played for Newport in the NECBL each of the last two summers, most recently slashing .383/.465/.517 (23-for-60) in 2023. Kulasingam was selected by Toronto in the 17th round of the 2023 Draft, but elected to go back to the Academy.
With the 407th overall pick in the 14th round, the Royals selected right-handed pitcher Kyle DeGroat out of Wallkill Senior High School (N.Y.). DeGroat, 18, was a two-way player at Wallkill Senior High School (N.Y.), where he was named a Rawlings Second-Team All-American and First-Team All-Region 1 All-Star after striking out 107 batters in 9 appearances (7 starts) as a senior, allowing 6 runs and just 16 hits (all singles). Kyle was originally committed to Stony Brook University (N.Y.), but flipped his commitment to the University of Texas last October. He has trained with Cleveland Guardians reliever, James Karinchak, and Angels minor leaguer, Caden Dana, in Newburgh, N.Y.
With the 437th overall pick in the 15th round, the Royals selected left-handed pitcher Tyler Davis out of Mississippi State University. Davis, 22, went 6-1 with a team-leading 5 saves a 2.80 ERA (11 ER in 35.1 IP) and 41 strikeouts in 28 relief appearances for the Bulldogs as a senior. He also spent his junior season with the Bulldogs, pitching in 14 games and covering 22.2 innings on the mound. Davis pitched his freshman and sophomore years at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he won 14 games and struck out 116 batters in 38 games (15 starts), including a 3.60 ERA (24 ER in 60.0 IP) and 63 strikeouts as a sophomore. He was named to the A-10 All-Rookie team as a freshman. Davis graduated from Menchville High School (Va.), where he led his team to the state tournament twice and was a 2020 Preseason All-American, and is from Newport News, Va., the same hometown of Royals pitcher Daniel Lynch IV. Menchville High School also produced former MLB pitcher Jharel Cotton.
With the 467th overall pick in the 16th round, the Royals selected right-handed pitcher Andrew Morones out of Cal State Fullerton University. Morones, 23, pitched in 26 games for Cal State Fullerton, striking out 44 batters in 33.0 innings as a senior. He pitched 14.0 scoreless innings with 4 saves and 22 strikeouts (41.5 K%) to just 2 walks across 12 games (11 finished) for Mahoning Valley in the 2024 MLB Draft League, where was teammates with Zachary Cawyer, the Royals 11th-round selection. Andrew pitched in the Northwoods League in 2021 and 2023, appearing in 26 total games for St. Cloud, striking out 50 batters in 39.0 innings. Prior to pitching for the Titans, Morones spent two seasons at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, Calif.
With the 497th overall pick in the 17th round, the Royals selected left-handed pitcher Dane Burns out of Prosper High School (Texas). Burns, 19, graduated from Prosper High School in 2023 and did not pitch competitively in 2024 after undergoing Tommy John Surgery. Prior to his injury, he had been committed to Mississippi State University, and is still committed to attend for the 2024-25 season. Dane pitched in 5 games for the Keene Swamp Bats in the New England Collegiate Baseball League this summer, where he struck out 16 batters in 9.2 innings. Born in Canada, Burns has deep hockey roots and didn’t start playing baseball until he was 12 years old.
With the 527th overall pick in the 18th round, the Royals selected outfielder Corey Cousin Jr. out of Slidell High School (La.). Cousin Jr., 17, graduated from Slidell High School (La.), and is committed to playing baseball at the University of Oklahoma. As a junior, Corey was a First-Team All-District 6-5A selection after batting .374 with a .468 OBP, 7 doubles, 6 home runs, 27 RBI, 24 runs and 12 stolen bases, while also posting a 2.86 ERA (7 ER in 22.0 IP) with 36 strikeouts and 4 saves on the mound. He had been committed to Louisiana State University-Eunice—where Royals prospect Javier Vaz went prior to transferring to Vanderbilt University—but flipped his commitment in Nov. 2023.
With the 557th overall pick in the 19th round, the Royals selected left-handed pitcher Dash Albus out of Abilene Christian University. Albus, who turns 22 next Wednesday, appeared in 20 games for Abilene Christian University this year, striking out 31 hitters (26.3 K%) in 24.2 innings. Dash pitched for the Temple College Leopards from 2021-22, making 14 appearances (7 starts) and striking out 28 batters in 35.1 innings. He graduated from Wylie High School (Texas) in 2021.
With the 587th overall pick in the 20th round, the Royals selected outfielder Carter Frederick out of the University of Oklahoma. Frederick, 22, played in 13 games for the Oklahoma Sooners this season, going 12-for-35 (.343) with 2 home runs and 9 RBI. Prior to joining the Sooners, he spent two seasons at Snead State Community College (Ala.), where he batted .463 with 14 home runs as a junior in 2023. This summer, Carter played for the Portland Pickles in the West Coast Collegiate Summer League, and in 7 games for the Pickles, he went 12-for-26 (.462) with 7 runs scored, 7 RBI, 2 stolen bases and more walks (8) than strikeouts (3). He redshirted as a freshman at Auburn University (Ala.), before transferring to Snead State. He graduated from Chelsea High School (Ala.) in 2020.
