​After selecting Zion Rose with the sixth pick and Taylor Rabe with the 30th pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, the Royals continued to fill out the first day with three additional selections. Kansas City opted for two high school prospects and another college pitcher to round out the day’s choices. With the 56th overall pick, the Royals added a right-handed pitcher who will also benefit from some signing bonus savings tied to Rose’s selection: Jack Slightom, a Chicago-area high school standout. Slightom was ranked as the 89th-best prospect by MLB.com and the 60th by ESPN, while The Athletic and Fangraphs placed him outside the top 100.
From Fangraphs: Slightom has emerged as this year’s Midwest pop-up arm. A Cincinnati commit, his fastball velocity surged from the upper 80s to the mid-90s over the past year. He is wiry at 6-foot-5, with a delivery that features both east and west components and a tailing fastball. His repertoire includes a changeup and a lateral slider, but inconsistent mechanics and questions about whether his fastball will play at higher levels lead some evaluators to view him more as a development project than a sure-thing as a multi-pitch contributor.
From MLB.com: Slightom sat in the 88-91 mph range as a junior and reached 95 at the World Wood Bat Championship in October, later touching 98 with carry and armside run this spring. His 77-81 mph slider shows flashes of power but lacks consistency, and he doesn’t rely heavily on his changeup, though it shows occasional mid-80s tumble and fade. Slightom’s delivery features a side-step and a low arm slot, which provides some deception. As a Cincinnati recruit, he’s athletic and should gain polish once he concentrates more fully on baseball. With a frame that could add significant strength, he has the potential to develop an upper-90s fastball and a mid-80s slider.
Also among the Royals’ Day 1 additions was Maxx Yehl, another pitcher whose college tenure was interrupted by Tommy John surgery, a common storyline in today’s game. Yehl excelled in the Big 12, striking out 27.9% of opponents and posting a 2.13 ERA, while limiting walks to 6.5%. MLB and ESPN rankings placed Yehl at 217th and 161st, respectively, among prospects. Fangraphs highlights his deceptive delivery: a nearly three-quarters arm slot, a crossfire path, and a delivery from which he can consistently command the ball. He lands cleanly and straight, delivering a mix that confounds hitters, especially lefties. His fastball carries above average to plus, despite a relatively low slot, and he missed many bats with high fastball velocity. His slider is mostly horizontal, but he demonstrates a good feel for spinning it, capable of locating back foot and back-door options against right-handed hitters, and he can also throw an average curve. A changeup is currently not part of his repertoire, though, which some evaluators see as a potential area for future development.