KANSAS CITY — Are the Royals getting the next Blake Snell? The next Al Leiter?

Those are just some of the comparisons to left-hander Asa Lacy, whom the Royals took with the No. 4 pick in the MLB Draft on Wednesday night. Lacy, a 21-year-old out of Texas A&M University, was considered by MLB Pipeline to be the top left-hander in the Draft.

Lacy becomes the highest-drafted player out of Texas A&M — the highest previously was left-hander Jeff Granger, taken by the Royals at No. 5 in 1993.

Most mock drafts had Lacy going at either No. 2 or No. 3. Presumably, the Royals, who many thought might take outfielder Zac Veen, couldn’t pass on Lacy when he fell to them.

The slot bonus money for the No. 4 pick is $6,664,000.

Lacy, who was drafted by the Indians in the 31st round in 2017 but opted to go to college, had a 0.75 ERA as a junior this season and struck out 46 batters in 24 innings.

Scouts have raved about Lacy’s fastball, which has a good downhill plane and can reach the upper 90s. Lacy also possesses a curveball and a hard slider in the low-to-mid 80s. His changeup grades above average.

There has been some belief among scouts that Lacy can even get better once he learns to harness his stuff.

Lacy will join a young crop of impressive Royals pitching prospects that includes Brady Singer (No. 2 per MLB Pipeline), Daniel Lynch (No. 3), Jackson Kowar (No. 4) and Kris Bubic (No. 6).

The Draft continues on Thursday with Rounds 2-5. The MLB Network preview show begins at 3 p.m. CT, with live coverage on MLB Network and ESPN2 beginning at 4 p.m. CT. Go to MLB.com/Draft for complete coverage, including every pick on the Draft Tracker, coverage and analysis from MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, the complete order of selection and more. And follow @MLBDraft and @MLBDraftTracker on Twitter.