Royals Felt Lee Was ‘Best Athlete On The Board’

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Outfielder Khalil Lee has homered off Bryce Harper.

As a 14-year-old freshman at the Flint Hill School in Oakton, Va., Lee attended a Harper camp.

“He threw to us in a little simulated game on one of the backfields, and I hit a home run off of him,” Lee said. “He said, ‘Wow, man, that was pretty good.’ I said, ‘Thank you.’ He talked to me a little bit about baseball, what my position was, what my name was and where I went to school.”

The Royals drafted Lee in the third round this year and signed him for $750,000. Through 24 games in the Rookie-level Arizona League, he hit .294/.425/.482 with 10 extra-base hits and 16 walks.

“He’s been impressive,” AZL Royals manager Darryl Kennedy said. “He’s a very exciting kid. He swings the bat with some authority. He’s very athletic. He’s got a plus arm and good speed . . . He brings a lot to the table.”

Lee won the Gatorade high school player of the year award in Virginia this year. He hit .471 and went 7-0, 0.33 as a pitcher. He had a scholarship to Liberty.

“A lot of teams liked me on the mound,” said Lee, 18, a lefthanded batter and thrower. “I’m glad the Royals picked me as an outfielder . . . If hitting doesn’t go the way I want it, I can always come back and pitch.”

Lee said he faced only one pitcher who touched 90 mph in high school, but he saw several arms throwing in the low-90s on his travel team.

“Now, it’s every night,” he said.

Lee also was the starting point guard on his prep basketball team, and he ran indoor track.

“Who is the best athlete on the board?,” scouting director Lonnie Goldberg asked when the Royals made their third-round pick. “You look at the reports, and the things Khalil did as a position player and as a pitcher—we decided to go that route.”

ROYALTIES

• The Royals signed undrafted Mississippi State righthander Paul Young out of the Cape Cod League. He threw a combined seven innings as a sophomore and junior while dealing with elbow surgery. After Young touched 97 mph in his July 11 debut in the Rookie-level Arizona League, the Royals promoted him to Rookie-level Idaho Falls.

• The Royals promoted righthander Reid Redman, a converted position player, to Double-A Northwest Arkansas.