The Chicago White Sox announced Tuesday that they have officially signed 20 of their 21 draft picks for the 2024 class. Prep first baseman Myles Bailey was the lone exception, as he was a long shot to sign--an insurance plan, as scouting director Mike Shirley put it--as their 20th-round pick. Instead, Bailey will head to Florida State, which is expected to be a strong contender for reaching the College World Series in 2025.
Headlining the White Sox draft is left-handed pitcher Hagen Smith, who signed for $8 million, according to Jim Callis of MLB.com. With a draft pool of $14,593,300, Smith’s bonus takes up 54.8% of the allotment. To sign all their picks, Shirley was forced to exceed the pool amount into the first tax bracket up to 5% over the initial allotment, which would be $15,322,965. As a reminder: the pool covers the first ten rounds and any amount that exceeds $150,000 between Rounds 11 and 20.
White Sox 2024 MLB Draft Signees
| Round | Player | Bonus Signing | Amount against Pool |
| 1 | Hagen Smith | $8,000,000.00 | $8,000,000.00 |
| 2 | Caleb Bonemer | $3,000,000.00 | $3,000,000.00 |
| 2B | Blake Larson | $1,400,000.00 | $1,400,000.00 |
| 3 | Nick McLain | $800,000.00 | $800,000.00 |
| 4 | Casey Saucke | $847,500.00 | $847,500.00 |
| 5 | Sam Antonacci | $572,500.00 | $572,500.00 |
| 6 | Jackson Appel | $122,500.00 | $122,500.00 |
| 7 | Phil Fox | $197,500.00 | $197,500.00 |
| 8 | Aaron Combs | $247,500.00 | $247,500.00 |
| 9 | Jack Young | $7,500.00 | $7,500.00 |
| 10 | Cole McConnell | $7,500.00 | $7,500.00 |
| 11 | Blake Shepardson | $150,000.00 | |
| 12 | Nathan Archer | $150,000.00 | |
| 13 | Pierce George | $197,500.00 | $47,500.00 |
| 14 | Justin Sinibaldi | $150,000.00 | |
| 15 | Mason Moore | $150,000.00 | |
| 16 | T.J. McCants | $75,000.00 | |
| 17 | Lyle Miller-Green | $25,000.00 | |
| 18 | Liam Paddack | $172,500.00 | $22,500.00 |
| 19 | Nick Pinto | $25,000.00 | |
| Total Signings | $16,297,500.00 | ||
| Against Bonus Pool | $15,272,500.00 | ||
| 5% Threshold | $15,322,965.00 |
As you can see in the table above, Shirley, with the help of other White Sox front office members negotiating with players’ advisors, spent $16,297,500 on bonuses for this draft class. However, only $15,272,500 counts against MLB Draft rules and that amount is $50,465 shy of surpassing the first threshold, the penalties of which include the loss of 2025 Draft picks. So Shirley spent almost all the money he could, and his boss, a fellow by the name of Jerry Reinsdorf, had to pay 75% tax on the overage amount, which equals $509,400.
Smith's signing for $8 million set a new White Sox draft record, breaking the mark previously held by Andrew Vaughn, who signed for $7,221,200 in 2019. For interested parties, at the time of this announcement, J.J. Wetherholt signed for $6.9 million with St. Louis, while neither Jac Caglianone nor Konnor Griffin have entered agreements with their respective clubs.
Shirley and the White Sox's draft spending hasn’t stopped, as eight undrafted players were added to the farm system.
White Sox Undrafted Signees
| Player | Position | School | 2024 Stats |
| Jorge Corona | C | Louisiana Tech | .316/.388/.570; 16 HR 51 RBI; 123 wRC+ |
| Bryce Eblin | 2B | Alabama | .268/.327/.450; 6 HR 24 RBI; 87 wRC+ |
| Grant Magill | C | Indiana State | .281/.327/.407; 6 HR 46 RBI; 79 wRC+ |
| Alec Makarewicz | 3B | NC State | .378/.438/.753; 24 HR 84 RBI; 168 wRC+ |
| Colton McIntosh | RHP | Washington | 1.1 IP 20.25 ERA (97 MPH fastball prior to TJ surgery) |
| Miguel Santos | 2B | Dallas Baptist | .325/.381/.528; 13 HR 52 RBI; 115 wRC+ |
| Grant Smith | SS | Kentucky | .235/.335/.343; 5 HR 34 RBI; 72 wRC+ |
| Gray Thomas | RHP | Oklahoma | 7 G 18.41 ERA 14 BB 9 K (MLB Draft League) |
Out of the undrafted players, two notable prospects jump out to me. Alec Makarewicz had an excellent season at NC State, hitting 24 home runs with 84 RBI. After spending his first four seasons with East Carolina, Makarewicz appeared in 258 college games and finished with a career of .302/.375/.547 slash line with 52 home runs and 212 RBI.
Jorge Corona was another high-performing college bat the Sox acquired. Spending all five seasons with Louisiana Tech (2020 redshirt eligible), Corona started 234 games and hit .291/.372/.512 with 47 home runs and 182 RBI. While there might be some potential with the bat, Corona was one of the best pitch-framers in college baseball. With 1,359 pitches framed, Corona was worth 11.77 Framing Runs Saved, the fourth-best in Division I. Against base stealers, Corona was worth 1.13 Stolen Base Runs (13th in DI) as he was 24-for-52 throwing out runners (46.1% CS).
Early Look at 2025 Draft Class
Thanks to Tankathon, we can run the MLB Draft Lottery Simulator to see which teams will be lucky enough to draft Ethan Holiday in 2025. It won't be the White Sox, as fans are quite aware the team cannot have a better than 10th overall pick next year, but they can do worse. I'm not sure if anyone considers themselves a South Sider to be pessimistic enough to root for the White Sox to be the first team drawn, picking 18th overall.
In running my first Draft Lottery sim, and I've got the Colorado Rockies to win the Holiday sweepstakes. How fitting.
Holiday won’t be the only coveted prep shortstop. Unlike this past draft class, 2025 provides many options for hitting prospects. Brady Ebel, Coy James, Lucas Franco, and Josh Gibbs are considered prep first-round talents at shortstop. The best college bats are in the outfield, led by Jace LaViolette, Cam Cannarella, Nolan Schubart, and Devin Taylor. The early take is that pitching will be light next year, but don’t worry, there’s another left-handed pitcher who throws out of a weird angle in Florida State’s Jamie Arnold.
Josh’s Way Too Early 2025 MLB Draft Watch Board
| Player | Position | School |
| Ethan Holiday | SS | Stillwater HS (OK) |
| Jace LaViolette | OF | Texas A&M |
| Cam Cannarella | OF | Clemson |
| Brady Ebel | SS | Corona HS (CA) |
| Coy James | SS | Davie County HS (NC) |
| Ethan Petry | OF | South Carolina |
| Devin Taylor | OF | Indiana |
| Nolan Schubart | OF | Oklahoma State |
| Ike Irish | C | Auburn |
| Jamie Arnold | LHP | Florida State |
| Cam Leiter | RHP | Florida State |
| Andrew Fischer | 3B | Tennessee |
| AJ Russell | RHP | Tennessee |
| Lucas Franco | SS | Cinco Ranch HS (TX) |
| Josh Gibbs | SS | Forsyth Central HS (GA) |
| Dean Moss | OF | IMG Academy (FL) |
| Caden Bodine | C | Coastal Carolina |
| Marek Houston | SS | Wake Forest |
