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The Royals will have $7.691 million to spend on amateur talent in the 2017 draft, according to draft slot numbers obtained by Baseball America. The draft bonus pool is determined by slot values assigned by Major League Baseball. The Royals will have the 14th-highest draft pool, which makes sense since they have the 14th overall pick plus a competitive lottery pick.
The new Collective Bargaining Agreement changes the value of slot values. As Baseball America explains:
The new Collective Bargaining Agreement redistributes the slot money, shifting more money to the top picks and bringing the slots at the top closer together. In 2016, there was a gap of more than $6 million between the first overall pick and the 15th; in 2017, that gap will shrink to less than $4 million.
The Twins have the biggest draft bonus pool at $13.481 million with the Reds behind them at just over $13 million. The Indians have the least amount to spend at $3.646 million. Last June, the Royals had just $3.225 million to spend on draft picks, the second-smallest pool in baseball.
Teams can allocate their draft bonus pool money however they want, giving over-slot to one player, so long as they go under-slot on another to stay under the overall pool. If a player is unsigned, that slot value is subtracted from the pool.
The Royals will have the 14th, 52nd, 73rd, and 90th picks in the first three rounds of the 2017 draft in June.