List of Kansas City Royals first-round draft picks

[1] Since the institution of Major League Baseball's Rule 4 Draft, the Royals have selected 57 players in the first round.

The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings with the team that had the worst record receiving the first pick.

[2] In addition, teams that lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks.

Outfielder Willie Wilson (1974) and shortstop Buddy Biancalana (1978) appeared during the Royals' 1985 World Series victory,[7] while Alex Gordon (2005), Luke Hochevar (2006), Mike Moustakas (2007), Eric Hosmer (2008) and Christian Colón (2010) were all part of the winning team in the 2015 World Series.

[8] Zack Greinke (2002) is the only first-round pick of the Royals to earn a Cy Young Award with the team, winning in 2009.

A young man in a blue cap and gray baseball uniform with blue lettering on the chest, including the number 23, pitches a baseball right-handed.
Zack Greinke, drafted in 2002, is the only Royals' first-round pick to win a Cy Young Award with the team.
A middle-aged man in a dark baseball cap, white pinstriped baseball uniform with "ROCKIES 13" on the chest, and a black shirt underneath walks away from a pitchers mound.
Clint Hurdle (1975) was the first player drafted by the Royals in the first round from Florida, a state which has produced seven first-rounders for the Royals overall.
A man in a gray baseball uniform with "NEW YORK" on the chest and a dark batting helmet stands in the infield dirt of a baseball diamond.
Johnny Damon was the last of four first-round picks by the Royals in 1992 and went on to win World Series championships with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. [ 14 ]
A man in a gray baseball uniform with "WASHINGTON 54" on the chest, a dark baseball cap, and a baseball glove on his left hand pitches a baseball with his right hand.
Mike MacDougal was one of two right-handed pitchers from the state of North Carolina taken by the Royals in the first round of the 1999 draft.
A man in a gray baseball uniform with "KANSAS CITY 35" on the chest and a blue batting helmet runs on the infield dirt of a baseball field.
Mitch Maier (2003) was one of three catchers ever drafted by the Royals in the first round of the First-Year Player Draft.
A man in a gray baseball uniform and blue batting helmet prepares to swing in a right-handed batting stance.
Billy Butler (2004) was one of two third basemen taken by the Royals in the first round.
A man in a blue baseball jersey and gray pants stands having pitched a baseball with his right hand.
Luke Hochevar (2006) is one of two players the Royals have drafted in the first round from the Fort Worth Cats and was selected with their only first overall pick.