SBN Reacts: What do you look for in the draft?

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts (formerly known as SB Nation Fanpulse), a survey of fans across MLB. Each week, we send 30 polls to plugged in fans from each team. Royals fans, sign up HERE to join SBN Reacts.

The MLB draft is right around the corner, set to take place July 11-13. The MLB draft doesn’t get the same kind of attention as the NBA or NFL drafts. College baseball is not nearly as popular as college football or basketball, and many of the baseball draftees come straight from high school. It will also take several years before they are in the big leagues, as opposed to the NBA and NFL, which takes players straight to the highest level of play.

So it is understandable if even rabid baseball fans don’t pay attention to the draft. We found that among our survey respondents, just over half said they pay close attention to the draft.

Most of the draftees will never sniff the big leagues, but at least on draft day, the hopes and dreams are unlimited. Some teams favor high ceilings, some favorite high floors, others are looking for a player who can help the big league club quickly. We asked fans what they value most in a draftee, and 70 percent of respondents said they value high upside.

We also asked fans whether or not they would take a pitcher or a hitter. The Royals went college pitcher-heavy in 2018, and the early returns in the minors have been great, with some mixed results at the big league level. Over 60 percent of our baseball fans preferred that approach, going with pitchers over hitters.

We also asked Royals fans how confident they felt about the team. The confidence in the team has plummeted with yet another losing streak, with just 42 percent of Royals fans confident in the direction of the club, the lowest mark of the year.

Remember, you can sign up to participate in SBN Reacts surveys at this link! Surveys will go out each week and only take a few minutes to complete. Check back next week for more SBN Reacts results!