Andrew Edwards, a 2010 Marshall County High School graduate, learned Friday he was added to the Kansas City 40-man roster along with three other players. The 40-man roster includes all players who are eligible for call-up to the active roster at any given time.
Edwards was drafted by the Royals in June 2013 in the 19th round and in the past year, the 6’6″ 265 lb. right-hander in April, was assigned to Northwest Arkansas Nationals (Springdale, Arkansas) after being with the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Wilmington, Delaware) since August 2013. In May, Edwards was assigned to the Omaha Storm Chasers (Papillion, Nebraska) then most recently played in the Dominican Republic for the Tigres del Licey.
As a player at Marshall County, Edwards earned all-district and all-region honors and was a key component in the 2009 Marshals 30-5 season, winning district and regional titles under Coach Don Bock and advancing to the state tournament, losing to eventual state champion Lexington Catholic.
Edwards signed with Rend Lake College following high school, starting both years and earning all-region honors there as well in his last year before signing with Western Kentucky University.
During his 2013 senior season at WKU, Edwards worked a team high 80.2 innings, struck out 75 (also a team high) with an ERA of 4.69. In his junior season for the Hilltoppers, he led the Sun Belt Conference with more wins than any league pitcher with a 6-2 mark in conference games.
Below is the an article from The Kansas City Star about Friday’s move by the Royals to add four players to round out their 40-man roster.
The Royals on Friday purchased the contracts of pitchers Andrew Edwards and Jake Junis from Class AAA Omaha and catcher Cam Gallagher and first baseman Samir Duenez from Class AA Northwest Arkansas and added them to their 40-man roster, ahead of a 7 p.m. deadline to protect players ahead of the Rule 5 draft.
The moves left the Royals with 40 players on the major-league roster after left-hander Tim Collins elected to become a free agent instead of accepting an outright assignment to Omaha and catcher Tony Cruz was designated for assignment.
Junis, a 24-year-old right-hander, was a 29th-round pick in 2011 and was promoted to Class AAA Omaha in August and could project as a back-end-of-rotation starter.
Duenez is a 20-year-old from Venezuela who reached Northwest Arkansas in 2016. He also played some left field in the minors and hit .284 with a .334 on-base percentage and 13 homers in 138 games last season.
Gallagher, 23, was the Royals’ second-round pick in 2011 and reached Northwest Arkansas last season after two seasons in Wilmington.
The Rule 5 draft is Dec. 8, on the final day of the winter meetings in National Harbor, Md.
The Royals’ 40-man roster already includes a number of their top prospects, including outfielders Jorge Bonifacio and Bubba Starling and right-hander Kyle Zimmer, who is recovering from a procedure to address thoracic outlet syndrome.
Among the highly regarded prospects who did not need protection: right-hander Josh Staumont, a second-round pick in 2015; first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, an eighth-round pick in 2014; Scott Blewett, a second-round pick in 2014; and left-hander Eric Skoglund, a third-round pick in 2014.
