Chicago White Sox MLB Draft History And Projections

As we approach the 2018 MLB Draft on June 4, we’ll break down each major league team’s recent draft history, picking out tendencies where applicable, highlighting the team’s 2018 draft pool and also touching on the organization’s most successful recent draft picks.

Additionally, each team is listed with potential draft targets. These players either fit the typical modus operandi of the organization or are players who have been specifically linked or rumored as fits with a team throughout the spring. Baseball America will continue to add and subtract players from the potential draft target section as we continue to gather information in the final weeks leading up to the draft. Players are listed with a line of skinny to get a quick idea of who they are, but our full scouting reports will give a more complete picture of a player.

It’s also worth pointing out that while in some cases a team might appear to have a clear tendency with certain demographics (i.e., high school pitchers or college hitters), the sample we are looking at is small enough that teams could simply be following a best player available strategy and the results are showing something that’s not an overarching scouting philosophy. It’s more likely that tendencies can be discovered at the extremes, rather than slight apparent preferences in the last five years.

Here is a breakdown of the recent MLB Draft history of the Chicago White Sox:

General Manager: Rick Hahn
Scouting Director: Nick Hostetler
2018 Bonus Pool (Rank): $12,781,900 (6th)

2018 MLB Draft Order:

1st Round: 4th

2nd Round: 46th

3rd Round: 81st

4th-40: 4th in each round.

First Round Picks Since 2013:

2017: Jake Burger (11th)

2016: Zack Collins (10th), Zack Burdi (26th)

2015: Carson Fulmer (8th)

2014: Carlos Rodon (3rd)

2013: Tim Anderson (17th)

Best Recent Pick (2010-2017 Drafts):

LHP Chris Sale (No. 13 overall, 2010) has been the best player to come out of the 2010 draft that included Bryce Harper, at least based on WAR. Since his debut season in 2010, Sale has been worth 37.6 bWAR, finished among the top six in AL Cy Young Award votes six times, is a six-time All-Star and led the league in strikeout rate on three separate occasions. He’s one of the true aces in the game and if it weren’t for Clayton Kershaw, Sale would be the best southpaw starter in the majors.

Recent Tendencies (Last Five Years/Top Five Rounds):

You won’t find a team who has coveted college players more than the White Sox in this span, as former scouting director Nick Capra and current scouting director Nick Hostetler—who took over in 2017—have drafted 21 college players out of the 24 picks they’ve had in the first five rounds of the last five years.

The White Sox have also leaned towards pitching, selecting 62.5 percent arms in this span, which is the fifth-highest percentage of any team trailing only the Braves (73.3), Cubs (66.7), Tigers (64) and Rockies (63.3).

However, last year, in Getz’ first draft, the team went with three college hitters through the first three rounds, potentially signaling a shift in priority at the top, as the White Sox have a significant amount of pitching talent in the farm system currently and might be attempting to add more bats.

Potential Draft Targets:

LHP Matthew Liberatore — A projectable lefthander who’s been up to 96 mph at times, Liberatore has three potential plus pitches and good feel for each.

IF Nick Madrigal — A speedy infielder with exceptional bat-to-ball skills, Madrigal has a long track record of hitting and plus defensive potential as well

RHP Brady Singer — A high-probability major leaguer with middle-of-the-rotation stuff and one of the longest track records in college

3B/SS Jonathan India — One of college baseball’s most impressive performers, India is solid across the board and is tapping into unprecedented power this spring

1B/3B Alec Bohm — A corner infielder with immense power in his bat, Bohm has a sound plan and approach in the batter’s box

LHP Shane McClanahan — An electrifying, albeit sporadic, lefthander with some of the best pure stuff in the class, McClanahan has a fastball that tickles 100 mph