In 2018, the Royals went heavy on college pitchers in the draft, picking up two Florida Gators in the first round - Brady Singer and Jackson Kowar. This year on day one of the draft, they picked up another Florida Gator with their second-round pick, then picked up another college pitcher with their Competitive Balance pick after the second round.
In the second round, with the 44th pick, the Royals selected shorstop Brady McConnell out of the University of Florida. McConnell was teammates with Snger and Kowar last year, although McConnell only appeared in nine games that year due to injury.