The Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft has finally arrived. MLB Network's coverage will start at 6 p.m. CT, but our coverage will start a half-hour before that with the Sox Machine MLB Draft show. I'll be posting a DraftChat with the Draft Show stream, along with our prospect profiles, draft resources, and other pertinent information around 5 p.m.
Also, don't forget to join our Pick 'em Contest.
In the meantime, here's what the latest survey of mock drafts says for the White Sox and their pick at No. 3. (Note: Updated to include FanGraphs' latest mock.)
FanGraphs (Today)
- White Sox select: Andrew Vaughn, 1B, Cal
- First two picks: Adley Rutschman, C, Oregon State (Orioles); Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Colleyville (Texas) HS (Royals)
- Previous mock: Abrams
Eric Longenhagen talked about this on the Sox Machine Podcast, and he and Kiley McDaniel made it official, switching to Cal first baseman Andrew Vaughn from prep shortstop C.J. Abrams in its mock draft today.
In the event Vaughn/Bleday goes first and Witt goes at two, this is Rutschman’s floor, however unlikely that scenario is. The tide has shifted again at this pick and Vaughn now looks to be the favorite with Georgia prep SS C.J. Abrams fading, possibly far. Texas prep 3B Brett Baty is the cut-rate option, but appears to be a long shot. Particularly if they can cut here, the White Sox are looking to float an overpay prep arm to their second pick, but that may be tough sledding.
Keith Law (Today)
- White Sox select: Vaughn
- First two picks: Rutschman, Witt
- Previous mock: Vaughn
Even while most other mock drafters talked themselves into Abrams somewhere along the line, Law has connected the White Sox to Vaughn all along. He hasn't considered it a lock -- and he doesn't do it here, either -- but he treats it as the most likely outcome.
They could take C.J. Abrams -- but that seems less likely than it did a week ago -- or even J.J. Bleday. If Vaughn goes No. 1 and Witt No. 2, they would take Rutschman. Fun fact: The last time the White Sox picked in the top 10 and took a high school player was 1985, when they selected Kurt Brown fifth overall … one pick ahead of Barry Bonds.
MLB.com (Today)
- White Sox select: Vaughn
- First two picks: Rutschman, Witt
- Previous mock: Vaughn
Due to the proximity of the draft (and thus a fresh mock draft), I didn't do a mock draft roundup that captured Jim Callis' switch to Vaughn, so both he and Jonathan Mayo are now on the same page. They also both have the whiff of uncertainty that characterizes the rest.
Baseball America (Sunday)
- White Sox select: Vaughn
- First two picks: Rutschman, Witt
- Previous mock: Abrams
Carlos Collazo also switched from Abrams to Vaughn at some point (they update the same page instead of creating new ones, so I'm not sure if they'd done it before May 23). At any rate, Collazo also threw a new name in here for a total curveball:
The White Sox continue to debate toolsy high school shortstop CJ Abrams vs. the advanced bat of Vaughn. Bleday is in the conversation, too, and the club has at least investigated making a deal with Texas prep infielder Brett Baty. It’s probably safe to assume Rutschman wouldn’t get past this spot.
