Tuesday, July 30, 2019

2019 Draft Review: Chicago White Sox

First five rounds: Andrew Vaughn (1-3), Matthew Thompson (2-45), Andrew Dalquist (3-81), James Beard (4-110), Dan Metzdorf (5-140)
Also notable: Karan Patel (7-200), DJ Gladney (16-470), Cameron Simmons (20-590)

Personally, I think this was a great draft for the White Sox. Andrew Vaughn is one of the best pure hitters to come out of the college ranks in recent memory, and brings the luxury of both a high floor and a high ceiling as a Joey Votto type. After him, Matthew Thompson and Andrew Dalquist are a couple of upside high school arms who could be impact starters down the line, and James Beard brings some of the best speed you'll find on a baseball diamond anywhere. The White Sox had to draft six straight college seniors after popping Beard in the fourth round to pay for Thompson's and Dalquist's overslot bonuses, but that's perfectly find with me given the class they ended up with.

1-3: 1B Andrew Vaughn (California, my rank: 3)
I spoke in the Tigers' draft review about how Riley Greene is the best pure high school bat since Brendan Rodgers, but Andrew Vaughn is right up there with the best college bats in recent memory. Between the power, ability to get on base, and ability to project going forward, Oregon State's Adley Rutschman (now an Oriole) is the only bat in the last few drafts that I see as even comparable to Vaughn's, with perhaps Virginia's Pavin Smith (now a Diamondback) having a say in there as well. I mean really, Vaughn slashed .402/.531/.819 with 23 home runs and an 18/44 strikeout to walk ratio as a sophomore at California in 2018, then pitchers refused to pitch to him this year and his numbers "dipped" to .374/.539/.704 with 15 home runs and a 33/60 strikeout to walk ratio over 52 games, including a .347/.508/.622 line in conference in the tough Pac-12. He also slashed .308/.368/.654 with five home runs and a 10/3 strikeout to walk ratio over 14 games in the elite Cape Cod League. There is no question about his offensive game; despite being 'only' six feet tall, the Santa Rosa, California native has a ton of power to all fields and gets to it with almost laughable consistency, showing an exceptional awareness of the strike zone that reminds one of Joey Votto. He has a quick bat despite his stocky stature and can put the barrel on anything he swings at, but he's more than willing to take a walk if offered. He should also be very quick to the majors due to his pure aptitude for hitting. While I hesitate to project him for consistent 40-homer pop due to his size, it's easy to see him hitting 30-40 per year with on-base percentages over .400, not too dissimilar to Votto, though Vaughn hits right handed. He's unremarkable at first base and therefore doesn't provide any defensive value, but if he hits at all like he's expected to, that shouldn't matter at all. Vaughn signed at slot for $7.22 million and he's slashing .306/.420/.490 with three home runs and a 21/14 strikeout to walk ratio over 26 games between the complex level Arizona League and Class A Kannapolis.

2-45: RHP Matthew Thompson (Cypress Ranch HS [TX], my rank: 60)
Matthew Thompson wasn't even the best pitcher on his high school team this year, but that's because he and Rays competitive balance pick (#36 overall) JJ Goss formed the best one-two punch of any high school rotation in the country. Thompson entered the year slightly favored over Goss, though his teammate out-pitched him and ended up drafted nine spots ahead. However, Thompson still has tremendous upside. The Houston-area kid can sit in the low 90's with his fastball and adds a curveball that looked plus over the summer but which regressed a bit this spring, also adding a decent changeup. He has a very quick arm and a projectable 6'2" frame that makes it easy to dream on more velocity, and the hope is that pro coaching can get him more consistent with that potential plus curveball and get that changeup moving. He's a little old for the class, turning 19 in August, and he's fairly raw, but the upside here is that of a #2 or #3 starter. Vaughn may not take much patience, but Thompson will. Despite a Texas A&M commitment, he signed for $2.1 million, which was $450,000 above slot.

3-81: RHP Andrew Dalquist (Redondo Union HS [CA], my rank: 45)
I'm a big fan of Andrew Dalquist, as you can tell by his ranking here, 20 spots ahead of where he ranked on MLB.com and 22 spots ahead of Baseball America. He's a 6'1' righty from the Los Angeles area with a running, low 90's fastball, a curveball with good shape that needs to add power, a decent slider, and a changeup with fade. That all comes from an easy delivery that should enable him to maintain at above average command, and he has shown an aptitude for pitching that should enable him to get the most out of his abilities. The biggest knock on Dalquist is durability, as he's skinny and only recently had the velocity bump, but adding more strength to his frame should enable him to not only add and maintain velocity but add power to that curveball, giving him a good shot at being a mid-rotation starter. Committed to Arizona, he instead signed for $2 million, which was more than $1.2 million above slot.

4-110: OF James Beard (Loyd Star HS [MS], my rank: 122)
You want speed? Then James Beard is your guy. The high schooler from the tiny community of Loyd Star in rural Southwestern Mississippi can absolutely fly, possibly faster than any other player drafted this year. However, the rest of his game needs work. He has a clean swing from the right side and has made a lot of progress this year with the bat, adding some power and finding the barrel much more consistently, but that was against mediocre rural Mississippi high school competition and he is completely unproven against higher level pitching. Pro coaching could help him in a big way, though, and he could emerge from what will likely be a long run through the White Sox system a 10-15 homer hitter with solid on-base percentages and more stolen bases than you can count. Committed to Meridian Community College in Eastern Mississippi, he instead signed for $350,000, which was $177,800 below slot, and he's slashing .196/.255/.275 with two home runs, five stolen bases, and a 46/6 strikeout to walk ratio over 25 games in the Arizona League.

5-140: LHP Dan Metzdorf (Boston College, unranked)
After three years of posting ERA's over five, Dan Metzdorf finally got it figured out as a senior in 2019 and was dominant for the Eagles. This year, he had a 2.30 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, and a 72/32 strikeout to walk ratio over 82.1 innings, including a 2.85 ERA and a 61/27 strikeout to walk ratio in Boston College's tough ACC slate. The Boston-area native is a funky 5'10" lefty who comes from a low three quarters arm slot, getting his outs more due to deception than pure stuff. He sits in the upper 80's with his fastball and adds a sweepy slider, and while his command is closer to average, he can move his stuff around and get outs by keeping hitters off balance. He has gotten into the low 90's at times, and if the White Sox want to move him to the bullpen, he could probably sit there and use his fastball/slider combination to get outs as a long reliever or better. Also if the Sox choose to go the relief route, the 23 year old senior should be quick to the majors. He signed for $10,000, which was $384,300 below slot, and he has a 4.32 ERA, a 1.44 WHIP, and a 21/5 strikeout to walk ratio over 25 innings at rookie level Great Falls.

7-200: RHP Karan Patel (Texas-San Antonio, unranked)
First things first, Karan Patel and I were both born on January 2nd, 1997, so he's automatically cool in my book. Second, I can't confirm this 100%, but I believe the Houston-area native is the only Indian-American in affiliated professional baseball. The 6' righty had a 2.74 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP, and a 104/36 strikeout to walk ratio over 92 innings for UTSA this year, easily his best year for the Roadrunners. He sits in the low 90's with a loose arm that has been aided by years of playing cricket, and he has the makings of a potential future reliever or #5 starter. Patel signed for $10,000, which was $221,100 below slot, and he has a 3.38 ERA, a 1.34 WHIP, and a 25/7 strikeout to walk ratio over 18.2 innings with Metzdorf at Great Falls.

16-470: 3B DJ Gladney (Illiana Christian HS [IL], unranked)
There aren't too many major leaguers from the White Sox' side of the Chicago area, with the most notable active players being Curtis Granderson, Ben Zobrist, and Tanner Roark from the Illinois side and Jeff Samardzija and Sean Manaea from the Indiana side, but the they managed to find one here. DJ Gladney is an overslot sign in the 16th round out of Illiana Christian High School near Dyer, Indiana, a big bat with power potential. The 6'3" third baseman uses a big stride at the plate that causes his head to drop before the pitch, and his hands can be a bit slow to get going at times. However, when he does connect, he uses his strength to generate plus power, and some mechanical changes could help him get to it much more consistently in the minors. On the plus side, he didn't turn 18 until a month after the draft, making him young for his class. Committed to Eastern Kentucky, he signed for $225,000, which counts for $100,000 against the White Sox bonus pool, and he's slashing .309/.346/.547 with eight home runs and a 54/5 strikeout to walk ratio over 34 games in the Arizona League, highlighting both his power and his issues with controlling the zone.

20-590: OF Cameron Simmons (Virginia, unranked)
Cameron Simmons' huge sophomore year at UVA in 2017 (9 HR, .352/.432/.563) set him up well for the 2018 draft, but he missed the year with a shoulder injury and did not sign as a Rangers 15th rounder. When he came back in 2019 for his senior year, he wasn't the same player, finishing at .260/.363/.389 with five home runs and a 51/27 strikeout to walk ratio over 55 games, and he dropped to the 20th round. I noted after watching him play during his big 2017 season that he had a great feel for the game with smooth actions around the field, but he looked stiffer at the plate in 2019 and all of his production dropped. The Royersford, Pennsylvania native maintains a solid feel for the strike zone and an athletic frame at 6'4", and hopefully the White Sox can fix whatever has been ailing him and get him back to 100%. If they do, they could have a nice fourth outfielder on their hands. Simmons signed for $85,000 and he's slashing .333/.410/.556 with two home runs and an 11/6 strikeout to walk ratio over 17 games between Great Falls and Kannapolis.

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