The Royals kept leaning into pitching on the first day of the 2026 MLB Draft, and their third-round choice added another intriguing lefty to the mix.
Kansas City took West Virginia southpaw Maxx Yehl with the No. 91 overall pick, continuing a draft run that already included arms and more arms. Yehl, 22, arrives with plenty of college mileage and a résumé that stands out. He was a third-team All-America selection at West Virginia after helping the Mountaineers reach their first College World Series.
He also picked up Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honors, finishing with a 2.13 ERA across 97 innings and a strikeout rate of 10.4 per nine.
There’s a lot for the Royals to like in the profile. Yehl checks in at 6-foot-6 and brings a starter’s look, with some evaluators believing he has a real shot to remain in a major league rotation.
His fastball has reached 96 mph, and he pairs it with a slider and changeup. He can also cut the baseball, a wrinkle that could get more attention once he gets into Kansas City’s developmental system.
The biggest question is how he fits after coming off Tommy John surgery this spring. Even so, he showed encouraging progress while working from the Mountaineers’ rotation, and his left-handed profile only adds to the appeal.
The Royals have had success in recent years drafting southpaws, and Daniel Lynch IV is the example that jumps out. Lynch and Yehl share similar size and metrics, and Lynch once came out of college throwing in the upper 90s before starting his pro career in the rotation.
This season, he has settled in as a high-leverage reliever.
Yehl will need to sharpen his strike throwing in the minors, but the raw ingredients are there. He posted 112 strikeouts this season, and as a third-round pick, his projection makes him a pretty appetizing add.
With Yehl in the fold, the Royals have now added four players on the opening day of the two-day draft. He joins Zion Rose in the first round, Taylor Rabe in Competitive Balance Round A and Jack Slightom in the third round. Kansas City still has one more pick on Saturday, No. 119 in the fourth round.
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