AJ Causey inks professional contract with Kansas City Royals
After being selected with the 138th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2024 Major league Baseball Draft by Kansas City last Monday, former Tennessee right-handed pitcher AJ Causey has signed his professional contract with the Royals.
According to Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo, the deal is worth $477,500 when the slot value for the draft position is $505,000. This means that the sidewinder for $27,500 under slot.
Causey in his only season at Tennessee had a 4.43 ERA and a 13-3 record in 19 games. He started six games while pitching 91.1 innings, giving up 53 runs (45 earned) on 93 hits. He struck out 125 while issuing just 22 walks.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Casey transferred to Tennessee after two seasons at Jacksonville State, where he was a Friday night starter in 2023.
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He shut out Texas Tech for 4.2 innings in his Tennessee debut in February, picked up a win against Northern Kentucky in the Knoxville Regional in the NCAA Tournament and had 4.2 innings of shutout baseball against Evansville in the Knoxville Super Regional. He appeared twice in the College World Series, against Florida State and Texas A&M. Causey also started for a big-stretch of the first half of the season following the injury to AJ Russell.
The righty became the second pitcher drafted for Tennessee in the MLB Draft, following fellow Royal Drew Beam‘s selection in the third round. Aaron Combs was later drafted by the White Sox in the eighth round. All told, Tennessee had eight draft picks in 2024, the second-most in program history and two behind the 10 in 2022.
Zander Sechrist and Cal Stark signed undrafted free agent deals with the Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers, respectively, following the draft. Five Tennessee signees – a part of the No. 1 ranked class of 2024 (Perfect Game) – were also drafted. Transfer portal commit – Eric Rataczak of Niagara – was also drafted by the Miami Marlins in the 16th round.
