The contrast between the Royals drafts of recent memory and this year’s has been obvious.

The Royals have shown resourcefulness and creativity, drafting a big-time talent in the first round in Mike Moustakas, a polished high school righthander who profiles as a reliever and could move quickly in Sam Runion, a raw, but intriguing prep lefty in the third round in Danny Duffy, an obscure Canadian righthander in Peter Hodge Nielsen, and then in the sixth round they took one of the draft’s most interesting Puerto Rican talents in Fernando Cruz.
Cruz accelerated his coursework this year, and became draft eligible less than a month before the draft, even though he was just 17 and in his junior year, in terms of credits, entering the year.
Some scouts considered him the island’s prospect with the best combination of tools and ability, although he was the sixth player taken from Puerto Rico.