KC Draft, day 1 -- Alex Gordon, 4 Cs and 7 Ps

Day one of the Royals' first experience in the #2 slot in the draft is over and, if nothing else, KC got a player with great potential in Nebraska 3B Alex Gordon in the first round. Thank God they didn't go cheap. I was waiting for Baird to find a way to blow this, too. Here's the info on some of today's draft picks, I'll do the top 5:

Gordon -- #2 on BA's Best Five-Tool Talent list pre-draft (behind Stephen Drew), #1 on Best Pure Hitter rankings, #2 on Best Power Hitter rankings, #1 on Best Strike Zone Judgment, #2 on Closest to Majors rankings....hitting .382/.526/.735 this season with 18 HRs and 62 RBI for the Huskers....career BA of .356 at NU with 134 BBs in 188 games.....two time Big 12 Player of Year....two-time first-team All-American and Golden Spikes Award Finalist....leads the Big 12 in seven of 12 offensive categories -- now let's hope we can get him signed, luckily he grew up a Royals fan so that may help.

2nd rd SS Jeff Bianchi, ss, Lampeter-Strasburg HS, Lancaster, Pa. -- #126 on BA's top 200....rated by some publications as best HS player in Pennsylvania....set a single-season school record with 13 homers in 20 games this season, when he hit .575 and drove in 36 runs...holds LSHS career records for just about every major hitting category....earned scholarship to NC State for baseball but has stated may enter pros if drafted high enough. -- let's hope the 2nd round is high enough.

3rd rd RHP Chris Nicoll, UC-Irvine -- All-Big West second team selection after finishing the season 6-4....fourth in the Big West with a 2.58 ERA and struck out 113 batters this season to sit third in the conference...earned the team award for the Most Valuable Pitcher....selected by Toronto coming out of high school but didn't sign....averaged 9.11 strikeouts a game to lead the starters and gave up just 1.93 walks per game....the Big West with 44 batters struck out looking.

4th rd OF Joe Dickerson, Esperanza HS, Yorba Linda, CA -- All-Sunset League and All-CIF Southern Section Division I in 2004 when he batted .421 with 40hits, 10 doubles and 10 stolen bases....signed a letter of intent with Texas (may not be a good sign for signability)....hit .423 this year in 78 ABs with 8 2Bs, and 7 HRs and 20 RBI thru May 18.

5th rd SS Shawn Hayes, Franklin Pierce College, NH -- marks the highest draft pick in FPC program history.... two-time All-Northeast-10 Conference selection for the Ravens earning first team honors this spring as well as second team All-Northeast Region honors by both the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA)....led the Ravens with a .395 (60-152) batting average (2nd NE-10) this spring, scoring 42 runs (3rd) to go with 15 doubles (2nd), four triples (3rd), seven home runs (5th), 37 RBI (6th) and 16 steals (5th). The 6-foot, 4-inch, 220-pounder also posted a .684 slugging percentage (1st NE-10) and .444 on-base percentage (2nd) this season. His totals from this season placed him among single-season leaders at the College in batting average (6th), runs scored (10th), doubles (7th), triples (5th), slugging (5th) and steals (6th). Hayes’ 36 career steals are good for fourth all-time....“I was kind of stunned when I heard the announcement,” said Hayes. “I was completely surprised when I heard Kansas City, I was expecting a couple of other teams, but they came completely out of right field.” (from FPC website) -- sounds like he's open to negotiate.

Here's the rest of the day 1 Royal picks:

6, Ryan DiPietro, LHP, Eastern Connecticut State U.

7, Brent Fisher, LHP, Tolleson Union HS, Goodyear, Ariz.

8, Nicholas Doscher, C, Moore Catholic HS, Staten Island, N.Y.

9, Kiel Thibault, C, Gonzaga U., WA

10, Jeff Howell, C, Florida Southern U.

11, Michael Penn, RHP, U. of Michigan

12, Cody Harkcom, RHP, New Mexico JC

13, Andrew Larsen, OF, U. of Stony Brook, NY

14, Antonio Sabatini, CF, Erskine (S.C.) College

15, Brady Everett, C, Washington State U.

16, Mario Santiago, RHP, Baton Rouge (La.) CC

17, Miguel Vasquez, SS, Dewitt Clinton HS, Bronx, N.Y.

18, Paul Raglione, RHP, Grant HS, Portland, Ore.