By 2017, the Royals could see the party was starting to wind down. They had already traded away dominant reliever Wade Davis, and many expected them to lose the core of their championship club to free agency - Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, and Alcides Escobar. Management needed a draft that would replenish the farm system and produce the next generation of Royals contenders.
A late-season swoon in 2016 dropped the Royals to the #14 pick in the 2017 draft. Pre-draft, they were linked to some high school pitchers like Trevor Rodgers from New Mexico, Shane Baz from Texas, and DL Hall from Georgia, but Rogers and Baz would be off the board by the time the Royals picked.