Royals Agree To Deals With First-Round Picks Sean Gamble, Josh Hammond
The Royals agreed to deals with first-round selections Sean Gamble and Josh Hammond, reports Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline. Kansas City also has deals with second-rounders Michael Lombardi and Justin Lamkin, Callis adds.
Gamble was selected with the 23rd overall pick, K.C.’s standard first-round selection. Hammond went 28th with a supplemental selection that the Royals received under the Prospect Promotion Incentive thanks to Bobby Witt Jr. finishing runner-up in last year’s AL MVP voting. Gamble’s bonus is reported as $3.9975MM, though that presumably excludes a $2500 contingency bonus that’ll get him to an even $4MM on signing. That comes in a little above the $3.85MM slot value. Hammond signed for $3.1975MM, slightly below the $3.28MM slot.
A left-handed hitter, Gamble is a Florida prep product who had been committed to Vanderbilt. Most pre-draft scouting reports pegged him as a second-round talent. MLB Pipeline did have Gamble 27th, but each of FanGraphs (60), The Athletic’s Keith Law (48), Baseball America (45) and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (35) were a little lower. Evaluators praise his athleticism and bat speed, but there’s some concern about his pure hitting ability and questions about his defensive fit. While Gamble has mostly played second base in his prep career, most reports acknowledge that he may end up in the outfield.
Hammond, who was a two-way player in high school, drew varying opinions on public scouting reports. McDaniel slotted him as high as 17th, projecting him as a third baseman with potential plus-plus power. While FanGraphs felt he’s a better pitching prospect, Hammond enters pro ball as an infielder. Most other evaluators indeed are higher on him as a position player. His bat speed and defensive ability give him significant upside, but some reports question his pitch recognition and selectivity. Hammond bypasses a commitment to Wake Forest to enter the professional ranks.
2025 MLB Draft, First Round Results
This year’s amateur draft is officially underway, and we’ll be updating this post throughout the night with every first-round selection. More details and scouting reports on all these young players are available in pre-draft rankings from Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. As well, Pipeline has the breakdown of the slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, as well as the bonus pool money available to all 30 teams.
Here are the first-round selections….
- Washington Nationals: Eli Willits, SS, Fort Cobb-Broxton (OK)
- Los Angeles Angels: Tyler Bremner, RHP, UC Santa Barbara
- Seattle Mariners: Kade Anderson, LHP, LSU
- Colorado Rockies: Ethan Holliday, SS, Stillwater High School (OK)
- St. Louis Cardinals: Liam Doyle, LHP, Tennessee
- Pittsburgh Pirates: Seth Hernandez, RHP, Corona High School (CA)
- Miami Marlins: Aiva Arquette, SS, Oregon State
- Toronto Blue Jays: JoJo Parker, SS, Purvis High School (MS)
- Cincinnati Reds: Steele Hall, SS, Hewitt-Trussville High School (AL)
- Chicago White Sox: Billy Carlson, SS, Corona High School (CA)
- Athletics: Jamie Arnold, LHP, Florida State
- Texas Rangers: Gavin Fien, SS/3B, Great Oak High School (CA)
- San Francisco Giants: Gavin Kilen, SS/2B, Tennessee
- Tampa Bay Rays: Daniel Pierce, SS, Mill Creek High School (GA)
- Boston Red Sox: Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Oklahoma
- Minnesota Twins: Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest
- Chicago Cubs: Ethan Conrad, OF, Wake Forest
- Arizona Diamondbacks: Kayson Cunningham, SS, Johnson High School (TX)
- Baltimore Orioles: Ike Irish, C, Auburn
- Milwaukee Brewers: Andrew Fischer, 1B/3B, Tennessee
- Houston Astros: Xavier Neyens, SS/3B, Mount Vernon High School (WA)
- Atlanta Braves: Tate Southisene, SS, Basic High School (NV)
- Kansas City Royals: Sean Gamble, OF/2B, IMG Academy (FL)
- Detroit Tigers: Jordan Yost, SS, Sickles High School (FL)
- San Diego Padres: Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP, Sunset High School (OR)
- Philadelphia Phillies: Gage Wood, RHP, Arkansas
- Cleveland Guardians: Jace LaViolette, OF, Texas A&M
The first round officially consists of only 27 picks since the Mets, Yankees, and Dodgers all had their first-round selections dropped back by 10 slots. The three teams surpassed the third luxury tax tier in 2024, and thus their punishment included a 10-slot drop in their opening draft choice.
The 2025 draft is split up over two nights. Rounds 4-20 will take place tomorrow, while the draft’s first 105 picks will come off the board tonight. Those 105 picks consist of the first three proper rounds, the two Competitive Balance Rounds, and two sets of compensatory rounds (giving picks to teams who lost qualifying offer-rejecting free agents), and the Royals getting the 28th overall pick due to the Prospect Promotion Incentive. The evening’s 105th and final selection will be a compensatory pick to the Angels for not agreeing to a deal with 81st overall pick Ryan Prager.