Through the first two days of the Major League Baseball draft, the White Sox haven't drafted anybody from the University of Louisville. They haven't drafted anybody named Zach, Zack, Zac, Zak, Zacc, Zakk, or the like.
Instead, after drafting the safest of college bats in Andrew Vaughn with the No. 3 pick, Nick Hostetler spent the rest of the first two days in high school, at least as far as signing bonuses are concerned.
The White Sox started the draft by selecting a second consecutive prep right-handed pitcher, used the fourth-round pick on a speedy center fielder for hopefully more than the food jokes, and then spent the rest of the day drafting college seniors who will create budget room to go over slot value, either for them or any third-day pick.
Hostetler dipped a toe in this pool last year by taking two prep prospects on the second day of the draft last year, although he compensated by taking two Louisville pitchers. He ramped it up to three, and based on the number of seniors he drafted to make room afterward, he set his aims higher.
There isn't a White Sox draft comparable to this one in the bonus pool era, and the hard caps on spending make it difficult to draw similarities to the theoretically unlimited drafts before then. That said, as Larry pointed out, you'd probably have to go back to 1999 to find a draft that looked anything similar.
Running through the White Sox' eight picks on Tuesday...
Third round (81): Andrew Dalquist
RHP, Redondo Union H.S. (Calif.)
Height: 6'1" | Weight: 175 lbs.
Baseball America: No. 65 | MLB.com: No. 67 | Keith Law: No. 45
Like second-rounder Matthew Thompson, Dalquist is a lean right-hander with an athletic delivery who can hit 94 mph and spin a breaking ball while having plenty of physical projection left. Unlike Thompson, Dalquist didn't take a step back in his senior season. He was considered one of the top prep pitchers in California, and is said to require an over-slot bonus to get him to break his commitment to Arizona. That said, in the bonus pool era, teams usually only take players they know they can sign over the first two days.
Fourth round (110): James Beard
CF, Loyd Star H.S. (Miss.)
Height: 5'10" | Weight: 170 lbs.
Baseball America: No. 100 | MLB.com: No. 127 | Keith Law: No. 58
The second position player taken by the White Sox this draft is second to nobody when it comes to speed. Beard is considered the fastest player in the draft, although he'll likely move through the system slowly as he refines his plate appearance. While he doesn't have a power hitter's frame, evaluators said he can get the barrel to the ball with a quick swing and strong hands. He hasn't faced much in the way of competition, so reps are going to be crucial to his refinement. Hopefully the James Beard Award will mean something else for White Sox fans in 10 years or so.
Senior signings
- Fifth round: Dan Metzdorf, LHP, Boston College
- Sixth round: Avery Weems, LHP, Arizona
- Seventh round: Karan Patel, RHP UTSA
- Eighth round: Ivan Gonzalez, C, West Virginia
- Ninth round: Tyson Messer, RHP, Campbell University (NC)
- 10th round: Nate Pawelczyk, RHP, Winthrop (SC)
Carlos Carrazo noted that Metzdorf was the first player drafted to not appear in Baseball America's top 500 list. Sure enough, nobody else does either, although Pawelczyk did earn a sentence in MLB.com's draft tracker for being a low-slot righty with a good slider. Patel might have the most intriguing backstory of the group, as he's an accomplished cricket player.
Hostetler tried to downplay the purely financial aspects of this senior-heavy strategy:
“They are good players,” added Hostetler of the senior draftees. “They all offer something from either an evaluation/objective opinion standpoint or a data standpoint. All of those guys in the top 10 rounds did something we felt could add value to the organization.”
Hostetler said Metzdorf showed up well on Trackman, they saw Gonzalez a lot as he handled top pitching prospect Alek Manoah, and Messer and Pawelczyk are bullpen possibilities. Of all the second-day senior signings the White Sox have selected since 2012, Brad Goldberg is the only one to make it to the majors, but he proves it's not impossible.
The third and final day of the draft starts an hour before the White Sox play the Nationals, so we'll have one live thread for both.
