Coming out of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft, Bubba Starling was thought to be the most athletic player in the draft, which at the time was the right move for the Kansas City Royals. They took him with the fifth overall pick. However, the 27-year old made his big league debut in mid-July of this season.
He took a long time to reach the big leagues, spending the entire 2012 season in rookie ball which is common for players drafted straight out of high school. He spent the 2013-2016 seasons working his way up from Single-A to Triple-A and spent the entire 2017 season in Omaha.