Texas Tech’s John McMillon Signs With the Kansas City Royals
John McMillon, the Red Raiders' undrafted hard-throwing righty, will sign with the Royals organization for the maximum amount of $20,000...if the MLB ever figures out how to find some common ground between the owners and players.
That's an absolute steal for the Royals, who get a pitcher who can throw 100 MPH and has a pretty good breaking ball.
McMillon played four seasons for the Red Raiders after returning for his senior year even after being drafted by the Detroit Tigers last year. As a freshman in 2017, McMillon had a 1.75 ERA in 25.2 innings, while hitting 8 home runs as a DH.
After his freshman season, McMillon struggled to find his role, switching between the rotation and bullpen as a sophomore. In 2019, working mostly out of the pen, McMillon had 24 appearances and threw 47.2 innings striking out 67 batters. In 2020, McMillon struck out 20 across 9.1 innings of work.
Back in the 2019 Super Regional, he broke an aluminum bat while pitching, and Royals blogs were quick to find the clips.
Here's a great example of the power and finesse that McMillon can mix when he's really cooking: