The Kansas City Royals selected Virginia Tech outfielder Gavin Cross, a 6-foot-3 210-pound left-handed hitting Tennessee native, with the ninth pick in the MLB Draft on Sunday night.
Baseball America and MLB.com each ranked Cross the 10th-best prospect in this year’s draft.
This season at Virginia Tech, he slashed .328/.411/.660 with 17 home runs. In 2021, he earned All-ACC First Team honors and led Virginia Tech with a .345 batting average, a .621 slugging percentage, 48 runs scored, 70 hits, 13 doubles, five triples, 11 home runs and nine stolen bases.
He has played both right field and center field as well as first base.
Baseball America’s draft prospect scouting report grades Cross as having plus power, plus running ability as well as an above average hit tool.
Cross was selected to the ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Second Team and the VaSID All-State First Team in addition to being named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2022 NCAA Blacksburg Regional.
Through his three collegiate seasons, Cross didn’t bat lower than .300 for any season.
He also excelled offensively while playing for USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team. He led Team USA with a .455/.474/.879 slash line, 15 hits, 13 RBIs, and four home runs in the summer of 2021.
In high school, he set a Tennessee state record for stolen bases when he recorded 41 in 2018.
Cross is the first college position player the Royals have selected with their first pick since Hunter Dozier in 2013 (eight overall).
The Royals had used their two most recent top picks on pitchers in 2020 and 2021. They selected Texas A&M left-hander Asa Lacy with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2020, and then last year used the No. 7 pick on Connecticut high school left-hander Frankie Mozzicato.
Baseball America ranked the Royals farm system the fifth-best of the 30 MLB organizations in regard to overall talent in 2022.
The Royals will also make the No. 49 pick in the draft on Sunday night.
