Scouting report: Royals' Asa Lacy

MiLB.com's new Scouting Report series spotlights players who are just starting their professional careers, focusing on what the experts are projecting for these young phenoms. Here's a look at third-ranked Royals prospect Asa Lacy. For more player journeys on The Road to The Show, click here.

The Royals' Draft did not go exactly as planned in 2020, and they couldn't be more pleased.

Projections and models ahead of the event showed a certain left-hander, Texas A&M standout Asa Lacy, going with the second or third overall pick. Kansas City, with the fourth selection, didn't figure to stand much of a chance to get the southpaw with a tantalizing four-pitch mix. But when both the Orioles and the Marlins went another direction, the Royals were more than happy to call an audible.

“We were thrilled. It’s not like we went to bed thinking Asa Lacy would be there at No. 4. No way,” Lonnie Goldberg, Kansas City's assistant general manager and head of amateur scouting told MLB.com. "We made the advance decision that if that scenario happened, we would take Asa Lacy. ... There just aren’t that many [people] on this earth with his kind of talent."

Same, Asa, same. pic.twitter.com/AMBxVY2yJF

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) February 4, 2021

The club cheerfully pulled out the checkbook and set a franchise record with a contract for a pitcher out of the Draft, inking Lacy for $6,670,000, and he entered the Minor League season as the No. 26 overall prospect. After allowing a total of two runs in last summer's NCAA season, Lacy worked through an eye issue at the Kansas City alternate training site and pitched in fall instructional ball.

The Royals came into spring camp intent on building Lacy up slowly for the season, and indeed he was held out of Cactus League action.

"The Asa Lacys of the world and guys like that, we probably won’t give him too much game time especially early,” general manager Dayton Moore told MLB.com in February.

The 21-year-old lefty pitched his first professional game last week with the High A Quad Cities River Bandits, and though the outing didn't go as well as Lacy would've hoped, he figures to be a fast mover in the Royals system as he acclimates to the competition.

And his ultimate goal will be clear. Should Lacy make the big leagues -- and there's little doubt he will at some point in the next couple years -- he'll be the first Major Leaguer named Asa since Asa "Ace" Stewart played second base for the Cubs in 1895.

Of course, the Royals are confident it will be Lacy's tools and makeup -- not his throwback first name -- that makes him stand out in big league history.

Here's what the experts at MLB Pipeline have to say about Lacy:

Scouting grades (20-80 scale):

FASTBALL: 60
SLIDER: 60
CHANGEUP: 55
CONTROL: 50
OVERALL: 55

"Lacy showed the talent to go in the first five rounds as a Texas high schooler in 2017, but his $1 million price tag dropped him to the Indians in the 31st round. He opted to attend Texas A&M, where he dominated for three seasons and became the highest pick in school history. The Royals selected him No. 4 overall in June and signed him for $6,670,000, a franchise record for a drafted pitcher. Lacy was limited by an eye issue while at the Royals’ alternate training site but made a healthy return in time for organization’s fall instructional program at Kauffman Stadium.

"Lacy attacks hitters with a 92-97 mph fastball while using his 6-foot-4 frame to create angle towards the plate. He uses two distinct breaking balls, with his harder, upper-80s slider surpassing his downer curveball during his junior season and becoming a true plus pitch. He can pile up whiffs with both pitches, as well as a fading changeup that is a consistent plus offering and well-above-average at its best.

"While there are no questions about the quality of Lacy's pitches, he'll need to improve his command and control to reach his ceiling as a frontline starter. There is some effort in his three-quarters delivery and he can't always harness his overpowering stuff. Even without precise location, Lacy could still move quickly as a left-hander who can induce swings and misses with four different offerings."