A lot of our coverage this draft season attempts to guess what the White Sox will do with their first-round pick. We’ve written many profiles on draft prospects and played out scenarios in our mock drafts. With the draft starting tomorrow, the latest gossip still has the White Sox tied to college starting pitching in the first round.
What if the FutureSox staff were in the draft war room and Mike Shirley called on us to provide our thoughts on who the White Sox should take? It’s a wide range of players, but all would be good additions to an improving White Sox farm system.
Tucker Toman
Josh Nelson: The more I watch Tucker Toman's film, the more I love his swing. We all know the Chicago White Sox need more left-handed bats to take advantage of Guaranteed Rate Field. While I grow frustrated with their inability (or lack of effort) to add lefty bats through free agency to help in the present, I hold out hope for the future. Colson Montgomery continues to find a way to get on base, which makes him a unicorn in White Sox player development. We’ll see how Oscar Colas handles the challenge at Birmingham, and I still like Wes Kath’s potential.
Adding Toman would give the White Sox another bat to dream of contributing in Chicago. Yes, there is a need for more pitching within the farm system. However, I don’t think any available college pitchers would have Toman’s ceiling.
James Fox: Taking a college starter would fit as an organizational need, and there are plenty of names that would warrant excitement if the White Sox selected them. However, I’d prefer they take another prep hitter because I trust Mike Shirley with that particular demographic. Tucker Toman is a switch-hitting infielder out of South Carolina and could be in line to be the pick at #26.
The White Sox were linked strongly to Tyler Soderstrom as a Northern California prep back in 2020 before ultimately selecting Garrett Crochet. Soderstrom is a top 50 prospect in baseball right now. Colson Montgomery is currently the top prospect in the system, and the Indiana prep was the first rounder of the club in 2021. If Toman or any of the top prep players are available at Pick 26, I think taking this same path in 2022 makes the most sense.
FutureSox Profile: Tucker Toman
Steve Hasman: I think selecting Tucker Toman (assuming things go to chalk for most of the draft) would be picking the best available prospect.
Toman is known for his bat, even being considered one of the better hit/power high school prospects in this year's draft. He's also a switch hitter, which only helps his potential fit into a future White Sox lineup that is yearning for more lineup balance. While the defensive home is a question mark at the moment, I'm more confident that with the proper instruction, defensive skills can be fine-tuned and improved once in pro ball.
He also helps provide more youth to the system, something the White Sox have been working towards in recent years. Additionally, with the Sox being in their contention window, Toman could also provide value as a trade chip in the future. We've seen "selling" teams coveting younger prospects, as is the trend in much of baseball.
The Sox being so risk-averse with drafting high school position players in the first round, then finally bucking that trend last year and seeing immediate ROI is a great sign.
Connor Prielipp
Jason Lowenthal: It’s no secret the White Sox need to continue to amass pitching talent in the minor league system, and Alabama’s Connor Prielipp provides quite the profile. Although the 21-year-old southpaw hasn’t pitched in a game since May 2021 (Tommy John surgery), he looks like a potential frontline starter. Prielipp’s arsenal features a devastating slider that grades as a plus-plus pitch, perhaps the best single offering in the entire class, and a fastball that peaked in the mid-90s before TJS. He’s also shown a feel for a changeup. During his limited time with the Crimson Tide, the Wisconsin native was virtually untouchable and posted a remarkable 15.1 K/9 rate.
There are apparent concerns about Prielipp’s limited track record and complete return to competitive pitching, and it’s a bit troublesome that his fastball topped at 92-93 mph during a bullpen session for scouts before the SEC Tournament in May.
It might be slightly optimistic to expect Prielipp to be on the board at No. 26. However, should his name be uncalled by the time the White Sox make their selection, they’d be hard-pressed to pass him up. Prielipp, alongside promising young right-hander Norge Vera, would instantly be labeled as the top pitching prospects in the organization.
Cade Horton
Ken Sawilchik: Pitching may be a safe and predictable route, but it’s a constant area of need. This year is no different. With the recent high school draftees progressing slowly, Norge Vera a few years away from the big leagues, and Sean Burke struggling since his promotion to Double-A, adding another pitcher makes sense.
Given those circumstances, my recommendation is Cade Horton. Coming off Tommy John surgery, his regular season numbers were lacking, but he showed how high his ceiling is in the College World Series.
Horton’s fastball averages 94-96 and tops out at 98, but his slider may be his best pitch. He rounds out his arsenal with a curveball and changeup. He may be a bit short on experience, but he’s got massive upside.
Gabriel Hughes
Mike Rankin: The White Sox have the third smallest bonus pool this draft season, so I'm curious how Mike Shirley decides to allocate his resources beyond the first round. Shirley has spent over slot in the second round in back-to-back years, and I believe he will do it again. So, how does it impact the first-round decision at pick No. 26?
I believe the White Sox won't go above their first-round slot of $2,788,000. As a result, right-handed pitcher Gabriel Hughes of Gonzaga is a great selection at No. 26. Joe Doyle of Prospects Live told James Fox and I on the FutureSox Podcast Hughes was a fit. He's a proven college starter who is coming off his best season and projects to climb any organization's system quickly. Give me all of the pitching!
