Which 2026 deadline candidate played college baseball for Stanford before the Royals drafted him? Kris Bubic did.
Bubic played college baseball for the Stanford Cardinal before Kansas City selected him 40th overall in the 2018 Major League Baseball draft. The left-hander was the final member of the Royals’ four-pitcher first-round group that year, following Brady Singer, Jackson Kowar and Daniel Lynch IV.
His path to the draft began after he went undrafted out of Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose in 2015. At Stanford, Bubic developed into a dependable starter: he posted a 7–6 record with a 2.79 ERA and 96 strikeouts as a sophomore, then went 8–1 with a 2.62 ERA as a junior.
Bubic also starred in the Cape Cod Baseball League after his sophomore season, winning Pitcher of the Year honors with the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox. That experience helped raise his profile before the Royals selected him. He made his major league debut for Kansas City in 2020.