Bubba Starling Drafted by Kansas City Royals, Bad News for Cornhusker Fans?

Bubba Starling has always dreamed of playing for the Kansas City Royals.  On Monday night, Starling just took a giant step toward reaching that goal as he became the first-round pick of his hometown team.

As the fifth overall pick in the first round of the 2011 MLB draft, Bubba Starling represents the best athlete and perhaps the most talented player in this year's class.

Even before being drafted by the franchise located just about a 40 minute drive from where he grew up, Starling faced quite a daunting decision.  He has the choice to be a kid for a few more years or to become an adult before the summer after his senior year was even over.  

He has the choice to focus his enormous athletic abilities on the sport that will likely be his future, or he could continue to play two games that he loves.

Maybe most importantly, he has the choice of getting an education or acquiring a large enough sum of money that he would almost certainly be set for life.  

Now to add one more wrinkle to an already complex situation; he has the choice of playing for his favorite team, or playing for a school he has quickly come to identify himself as a part of.

However, Bubba Starling's dream of playing in Kansas City may be a nightmare for those Husker fans hoping to see him play in Lincoln.  Starling mentioned in an article in the Kansas City Star that he has always wanted to play for the Royals.  

Anyone who grew up playing baseball knows, boyhood dreams are hard to not hold onto.  It stands to reason that those dreams are even more difficult to let go of when they are relatively close to being realized.

There does appear to be one last ray of hope for Husker fans that would like to see Bubba Starling line up behind center this fall—signing bonus demands.  Starling's adviser is Scott Boras who is notorious for squeezing every last dime out of teams in negotiations (or in amateur situations, advising the families to do so).

The worst case scenario for Nebraska actually may have been if Bubba Starling slid one more spot to the Washington Nationals at No. 6.  The Nationals last two first-round draft picks have each had exorbitant bonus demands and were both clients of Scott Boras.  

Washington also has a history of working with Boras and his major league clients, such as Jayson Werth.  Had the Nationals drafted Bubba Starling, a deal may have been essentially signed, sealed and delivered, even if it would not have been official until August.

Still, the Kansas City Royals appear to have the inside track over Nebraska to gain the services of Bubba Starling.  While all hope is not lost for the Huskers, the probability that Starling will play college football took a serious hit Monday night.

If Nebraska fans want to see Bubba Starling play in the city to the south of Omaha, they may have to wait a couple years and do it at Werner Park in Papillion instead of Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.

Information for this article was used from ESPN.com and KansasCity.com.