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Royals sign draft picks, including top pick Frank Mozzicato

Welcome to our newest Royals!

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announces Frank Mozzicato as the seventh overall pick for the Kansas City Royals during the 2021 Major Leauge Baseball Draft at Bellco Theater at Colorado Convention Center on Sunday, July 11, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images

The Royals have already signed a number of the 21 amateur players they selected in last week’s draft, headed by first-round pick Frank Mozzicato, a high school left-handed pitcher from Connecticut. Mozzicato signed a $3.55 million bonus, nearly $2 million below slot, which will allow them to go over slot for other draft picks.

Anne Rogers talked to the newest member of the Royals, who has already had some local BBQ and had a chance to visit the K this weekend.

“Coming off the highway, see the big crown on top of the scoreboard,” Mozzicato said. “Just a different atmosphere. I can’t wait to get here and make an impact.”

The Royals will be capped on how much they can spend on draft bonuses at $10,917,700 on their picks in the first ten rounds. Each draft slot is assigned a value by MLB. A team can spend more or less than the slot on a player, but the total amount of money must be under the total amount of their slot value for the first ten rounds. If a team exceeds their total amount, they will be penalized. A team that exceeds their bonus pool by 0-5 percent will pay a 75 percent tax on the overage. If a team exceeds their pool by more than 5 percent, they will lose a future first-round pick. If they exceed by more than 10 percent, they will lose a second-round pick as well, plus pay a 100 percent tax on the overage. If a team exceeds their pool by 15 percent, they will lose two first-round picks, plus pay the 100 percent tax on the overage.

After the first ten rounds, players are assigned a bonus slot of $125,000. If teams sign them for more than that, it comes out of their assigned bonus pool. Most of these players should sign - typically over 80% of the draft picks in the first 20 rounds sign deals.

We’ll be tracking and updating all the signings and bonus amounts right here.

Last updated: July 25, 6:56 p.m. The Royals have signed all 21 draft picks.

By going over with some draftees after the 10th round, the Royals will exceed their bonus pool, but not by the five percent threshold that would warrant draft pick forfeiture. The Royals will have to pay a 75 percent tax on the $544,600 they spent over the bonus pool, an additional $408,450.

Royals 2021 draft class

Round Overall Player School Signed Slot Difference
Round Overall Player School Signed Slot Difference
1 7 P Frank Mozzicato East Catholic HS (CT) $3,547,500 $5,432,400 -$1,884,900
2 43 P Ben Kudrna Blue Valley Southwest (KS) $2,997,500 $1,729,800 $1,267,700
Comp 66 2B Peyton Wilson Univ. of Alabama $1,000,800 $1,003,300 -$2,500
3 78 C Carter Jensen Park Hill HS (MO) $1,097,500 $793,000 $304,500
4 108 P Shane Panzini Red Bank Catholic HS (NJ) $997,500 $538,200 $459,300
5 139 P Eric Cerantola Mississippi State Univ. $497,500 $398,000 $99,500
6 169 2B Dayton Dooney Central Arizona College $297,500 $299,000 -$1,500
7 199 P Noah Cameron U. of Central Arkansas $197,500 $233,000 -$35,500
8 229 SS Ryan Cepero Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy $208,500 $184,700 $23,800
9 259 OF Parker Bates Louisiana Tech $17,500 $158,600 -$141,100
10 289 P Shane Connolly Virginia Tech $72,500 $147,700 -$75,200
Total $10,931,800 $10,917,700 $14,100
11 319 SS Brennon McNair Magee HS (MS) $347,500 $125,000 $222,500
12 349 P Tyson Guerrero Univ. of Washington $127,500 $125,000 $2,500
13 379 P Patrick Halligan Pensacola State College $132,500 $125,000 $7,500
14 409 P Caden Monke Univ. of Arkansas $125,000 $125,000 $0
15 439 OF River Town Dallas Baptist Univ. $125,000 $125,000 $0
16 469 P Anthony Simonelli Virginia Tech $75,000 $125,000
17 499 C Luca Tresh North Carolina State Univ. $423,000 $125,000 $298,000
18 529 P Harrison Beethe TCU $125,000 $125,000 $0
19 559 SS Cam Williams Univ. of Texas $20,000 $125,000
20 589 P Jack Aldrich Tulane University $125,000 $125,000 $0
Overages $530,500
Total overslot $544,600
5 percent max penalty $545,885

Bonus information from Baseball America.