Royals select Florida ace Brady Singer No. 18 overall
With the 18th pick in the 2018 MLB amateur draft, the Kansas City Royals selected Florida ace Brady Singer, a 6-foot-5 right-hander who was at one point pegged to be the first pitcher off the board.
Singer was widely considered the second-best college pitcher on the board, but wound up sliding to the Royals in the bottom half of the first round. The right-handed ace follows in the footsteps of A.J. Puk, who went in the first round of the 2017 draft out of Florida.
Singer marks the third consecutive pitcher the Royals have taken with their top selection, following Ashe Russell in 2015 and Brandon Finnegan in 2014.
Bio
Age: 21
Position: RHP
Height/weight: 6-foot-5, 180 pounds
Bats/Throws: R/R
School: Florida
Pick value: $3,349,300
MLB.com prospect rank: 2
MLB.com money quote: "At first it seemed like Singer would have the chance to be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, but a slow start to his junior season knocked him down a peg."
Scouting Grades
| Fastball | Slider | Changeup | Control | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65 | 60 | 55 | 55 | 55 |
2018 stats
| IP (G) | ERA | K/BB | HR/9 | OPP. AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95 | 2.27 | 5.15 | 0.72 | .186 |
Take a look ...
(Video courtesy: MLB.com)
(Grades courtesy: MLB Pipeline)