Back in 2020, baseball couldn't avoid the chaos COVID-19 mercilessly imposed on the world. The pandemic interrupted spring training for months, delayed the start of the major league season, and drastically shortened the campaign for the Kansas City Royals and every other big league team.
COVID also eviscerated the annual amateur draft — for a variety of reasons all tied to the pandemic, the draft was slashed from its usual 40 rounds to just five. The Royals first grabbed pitcher Asa Lacy with the fourth overall pick, then chose Nick Loftin in Competitive Balance Round A, which some consider included in Round 1 because it preceded Round 2.