Having taken a college pitcher with the #4 pick with Asa Lacy, the Royals turned to a bat with the #32 pick, selecting Baylor shorstop Nick Loftin in the competitive balance round. Loftin hit .323/.380/.502 with six home runs in 53 games last year for the Bears, and was hitting .298/.339/.544 with two home runs in 14 games so far this year.
Loftin hails from Corpus Christi, Texas and was immediately a starter at Baylor, hitting .306 his freshman season. Baseball America ranks him as the #29 prospect in this draft, “solidly in the mix of the top shortstops in the college class.