Royals sign 2011 third-rounder Brickhouse and 16th-rounder Lopez

The Royals announced tonight that the club has signed third-round selection from the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft, right-handed pitcher Bryan Brickhouse, and 16th-round pick, Jack Lopez.

The 19-year-old Brickhouse is a 6-foot-2, 195-pound right-handed pitcher from The Woodlands High School in Texas.  Brickhouse, who pitched in the 2010 Under Armour All-American Game, was 7-2 with a 1.08 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 72.0 innings for The Woodlands.  He chose to sign with the Royals over a baseball scholarship to the University of North Carolina. 

Lopez, 18, is a 6-foot, 175-pound shortstop from Deltona (Fla.) High School.  The right-handed hitter batted .462 with 10 home runs and 34 RBI during his senior season.  He is the son of current Cincinnati Reds bullpen coach Juan Lopez and the nephew of former Royals shortstop Onix Concepcion.  Lopez has forgone a scholarship offer to play baseball at the University of Miami to sign with Kansas City.