Gavin Cross #9

Selected in the 1st round (No. 9 overall) of the 2022 MLB Draft by the Kansas City Royals out of Virginia Tech... signed with the Royals on July 23, 2022 and received a signing bonus of $5.2 million... was a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award as college baseball's top player in 2022 when he entered the collegiate season as a five-time Preseason All-American... led USA Baseball’s 2021 Collegiate National Team in batting (.455), slugging (.879) and home runs (4)... was named to the 2022 All-ACC First Team -- his second career selection... in 2022 at Virginia Tech, he hit 13 doubles, tied for the ACC lead in triples (five), scored 60 runs and remained perfect in stolen base attempts at 11-for-11... made his Royals debut on Aug. 4, 2022 with the team's Arizona Complex League affiliate... Royals promoted Cross after three FCL games to Single-A Columbia, where he debuted on Aug. 10, 2022 at Myrtle Beach... hit .312 with eight homers and 25 RBIs in 29 games in 2022... entered the 2023 season ranked as the No. 62 prospect in baseball by MLB.com