Royals Gamble With Top Pick

If you ever wondered what makes the Kansas City Royals such a miserable franchise, look no further than the amateur draft.

The team selected right-hander Luke Hochevar with its No. 1 overall pick of the first-year player draft, passing up a number of more logical players in the process.

Hochevar was a junior at Tennessee in 2005 when he won the Roger Clemens award as the nation’s top pitcher. He was drafted by the Dodgers with 40th overall pick last year, hired Scott Boras as an agent and proceeded to turn down a $2.98 million dollar signing bonus. Then, instead of going back to school and graduating, he elected to sign with an Independent League team.

It’s nice to see a kid pass up more money than any other 40th pick has ever received, drop out of school and still go No. 1 the following year.

I’m just hoping that the two sides already have a deal worked out, but according to Hochevar, they haven’t discussed money at all.

To me, that’s mind boggling. Here you have the laughing stock of sports, desperately in need of something good to happen, and they draft a Scott Boras client who has already sat out a year because of a contract dispute. It’s like they’re asking to be pissed on.

WAS IT THE RIGHT PICK? NO ONE REALLY KNOWS – Kansas City Star
Hochevar Goes Number One – Royal Reflections