The White Sox brought on a wide variety of skill sets in this class, with no two players possessing the same profile. It started with Jacob Gonzalez, at one point considered a top five talent in the class, on a large under slot deal, and that helped them later land Chicago-area native George Wolkow for a massive over slot bonus in the seventh round. Overall, I think it's a decent class that could provide contributors in a lot of different roles.
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Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. "2-50" would indicate that a player was drafted in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.
1-15: SS Jacob Gonzalez, Mississippi {video}
Slot value: $4.49 million. Signing bonus: $3.9 million ($588,600 below slot value).
My rank: #15. MLB Pipeline: #18. Baseball America: #11. Prospects Live: #7.
Jacob Gonzalez was considered a potential top five prospect in the class entering the season and didn't really do too much to relinquish that status, so the White Sox getting him here in the middle of the first round for a sizable discount (close to slot value for pick #19) is very nice value. He burst onto the scene with a massive freshman season in 2021 (.355/.443/.561), then bounced back from an up and down sophomore year (.273/.405/.558) with another strong junior season, slashing .327/.435/.564 with ten home runs and a 28/35 strikeout to walk ratio over 54 games. He's an extremely professional hitter and always has been, walking more than he struck out in each of his three seasons in Oxford. He has some of the best hand-eye coordination in the class, making a ton of contact both inside and outside the zone and rarely ever striking out. This enables him to have success with a fairly unorthodox swing, in which he throws his weight up the first base line to yank balls hard to the pull side and generate strong batted ball data. For most, this selling out to the pull side would cause them to pull off soft stuff away and many teams were lower on him for that reason. However, Gonzalez's barrel control enables him to reach those tougher pitches and he's made this approach work extremely well against strong competition in the SEC, so I'm not particularly concerned about his ability to make it work in pro ball. The only concern is that if he does need to begin employing a more balanced, all-fields approach in the upper minors or in the majors, it could take away from his power production which is maximized by his current approach. As it stands, the Southern California product has above average power, but it could drop to average with a more refined approach. Still, it's very reasonable to expect 15-20 home runs per season with high on-base percentages as the median outcome, and he could be a 20-25 home run bat or more with those high on-base percentages at his ceiling. A below average runner, he has shown well at shortstop anyways because of his strong internal clock and body control, with a strong arm that aids his cause. He may move to third base in the future, where he should be at least an average defender if not above average. He hasn't quite gotten going yet in pro ball, where he is slashing .216/.305/.284 with one home run and a 16/12 strikeout to walk ratio in 23 games between the Arizona Complex League and Low A Kannapolis.
2-51: RHP Grant Taylor, Louisiana State {video}
Slot value: $1.66 million. Signing bonus: $1.66 million.
My rank: #77. MLB Pipeline: #102. Baseball America: #80. Prospects Live: #79.
Last year, the White Sox took a second round chance on an injured SEC hurler while he worked his way back from Tommy John surgery. A year after taking Peyton Pallette out of Arkansas, the White Sox did it again in grabbing Grant Taylor out of LSU despite the fact that he has just 31 collegiate innings under his belt after missing 2023 with Tommy John surgery. Taylor had an unremarkable freshman season in 2022, but really made a name for himself with a strong run through the Cape Cod League (2.14 ERA, 30/2 K/BB in 21 IP) and continued to show well in fall practice. He sits in the low 90's with his fastball but can reach back for the upper 90's early in starts, with the ability to cut or ride it depending on what he needs. Taylor can really spin a breaking ball, with a potentially plus curveball in addition to an above average slider that he has begun to effectively work into a cutter, though to this point he hasn't used his changeup much. It's a really nice pitch mix that could produce five average or better pitches once he gains more conviction in his changeup, and it all comes from a sturdy 6'3" frame that should lend itself well to starting. Beyond health, the main question mark is command, as Taylor ran an elevated 13.9% walk rate as a freshman in 2022 but pounded the zone with conviction on the Cape and in fall practice. If he can hold that command together, and the White Sox believe he can, he has a shot to be a mid-rotation starter.
3-84: RHP Seth Keener, Wake Forest {video}
Slot value: $833,900. Signing bonus: $800,000 ($33,900 below slot value).
My rank: #91. MLB Pipeline: #108. Baseball America: #131. Prospects Live: #66.
Seth Keener was ineffective as a freshman then stepped into a larger role as a sophomore, but still put up an uneven performance. He always had the arm strength, though, and put it together for an excellent junior season in which he posted a 2.69 ERA and a 94/20 strikeout to walk ratio over 70.1 innings despite pitching in a hitter-friendly home park. Keener has electric stuff, sitting in the low to mid 90's and touching 97 with his fastball, which comes in with some hop to boot. He leans heavily on a plus slider and still misses a ton of bats even when hitters know it's coming, while his changeup has the makings of a solid average pitch. Everything plays up because he gets great extension down the mound, a product of his great athleticism and mature 6'2" frame. While he's more of a control over command type, he repeats his delivery well and pounds the strike zone with conviction, so his misses still tend to be competitive offerings that keep him in every at bat. Keener is a Cape performer (2.61 ERA, 29/11 K/BB) and has a chance to start in pro ball even though he served as a swingman at Wake Forest. So far, he has allowed one run over six innings on seven strikeouts and two walks in the Arizona Complex League.
4-116: C Calvin Harris, Mississippi {video}
Slot value: $574,600. Signing bonus: $600,000 ($25,400 above slot value).
My rank: #183. MLB Pipeline: #133. Baseball America: #167. Prospects Live: #157.
In the fourth round, the White Sox picked up a semi-local kid in Calvin Harris. Harris is a native of Peosta, Iowa, a small town just west of Dubuque near the Field of Dreams site and about three and a half hours northwest of Chicago. He has been a very productive hitter for Ole Miss the past two seasons, and in 2023 slashed .321/.398/.579 with 12 home runs and a 40/29 strikeout to walk ratio over 54 games. Four of those home runs, a third of his season total, came in one game against Missouri on May 6th in what was the offensive performance of the season in college baseball. Overall, Harris lacks a standout tool but does a lot of things well. He clearly has some power, though overall it's probably closer to average in the long run, a product of his sturdy 6' frame packed with plenty of strength. He does a decent job of controlling the zone and makes a fair amount of contact, with a very reasonable 16.4% strikeout rate and a nice 11.9% walk rate this past spring. SEC pitching did expose some holes in his swing, but he did perform well regardless. In drafting him this high, a bit ahead of where most boards had him, the White Sox clearly believe in his ability to catch, which is a question mark for some evaluators. He handles himself well behind the plate with solid glovework, though he hasn't fully regained his arm strength after recovering from Tommy John surgery. If he can get that done, he has a chance to be an average defender with an average bat – not the most exciting profile, but pretty valuable for a catcher. So far, he's slashing .244/.355/.321 with one home run and an 18/13 strikeout to walk ratio over 22 games between the Arizona Complex League and Low A Kannapolis.
5-152: LHP Christian Oppor, Gulf Coast JC [FL] {video}
Slot value: $404,700. Signing bonus: $550,000 ($145,300 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #225. Baseball America: unranked. Prospects Live: #329.
Christian Oppor gives the White Sox another small town Midwesterner, having grown up in Columbus, Wisconsin a little northeast of Madison and about two and a half hours northwest of Chicago. The A's took him as a draft and follow prospect but ultimately did not come to terms with him, allowing him to be available to the White Sox here in the fifth round for fourth round money. Oppor had an inconsistent season for Gulf Coast JC in Florida, where he posted a 6.24 ERA and a 76/38 strikeout to walk ratio over 53.1 innings, but the White Sox are buying the athleticism and arm strength here. Oppor touched 98 early in the spring but sat more in the low 90's throughout the season, with some flat plane from a lower release point. While the fastball is his best pitch, he does show solid feel for his changeup that functions as his best offspeed pitch, while his slider is very much a work in progress. Oppor is very young, having only turned 19 in July, making him younger than some high school seniors in this draft class. He also has a very athletic delivery and accesses his prodigious arm talent with ease, so once the White Sox help him begin to repeat that delivery better, his strike throwing should improve from the below average grade it has now to something closer to average. There is a lot to work with here from the 6'2" lefty even if he is a long way off. He has allowed two runs (one earned) over 7.2 innings in the Arizona Complex League, striking out nine against two walks.
6-179: LHP Lucas Gordon, Texas {video}
Slot value: $317,400. Signing bonus: $300,000 ($17,400 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #277. Prospects Live: #466.
Lucas Gordon has a similar feel to Pete Hansen a year ago, as a soft tossing Californian lefty coming out of the University of Texas with a strong track record to his name. Indeed, after putting up a 3.05 ERA and a 77/26 strikeout to walk ratio over 85.2 innings as a sophomore, he improved to a 2.63 ERA and a 103/34 strikeout to walk ratio over 102.2 innings as a junior this year despite so many other pitchers seeing their numbers take a step back. Gordon sits around 90 with his fastball and tops out around 93-94 with some running action, making for a fringe-average pitch. He can work in a couple of slurvy breaking balls that get nice depth but lack power and bite, so his best pitch is an above average changeup that misses a ton of bats. With an easy, repeatable delivery and a strong track record of above average command, Gordon does have a shot crack it as a back-end starter if he can add a little more power to his stuff. If not, he'll end up as a fastball/changeup lefty reliever that can throw a few innings at a time. In 5.2 innings in the Arizona Complex League, he has allowed two runs (one earned) while striking out eight and walking five.
7-209: OF George Wolkow, Downers Grove North HS [IL] {video}
Slot value: $248,300. Signing bonus: $1 million ($751,700 above slot value).
My rank: #84. MLB Pipeline: #71. Baseball America: #79. Prospects Live: #179.
For the second year in a row, the White Sox gave a seven figure bonus to a high schooler from the Chicago suburbs, following up Oswego East's Noah Schultz last year with Downers Grove North's George Wolkow this year. Wolkow signed way above slot value here in the seventh round, earning early third round money (close to the slot value for pick #73) to sign away from a South Carolina commitment and stay home. He is also the youngest player in the entire 2023 draft as the only kid born in 2006 taken this year (feel old yet?) after reclassifying from the 2024 class. He has earned comparisons to a left handed Aaron Judge due to his massive 6'7", 240 pound frame that you don't see every day from a 17 year old, and he's got the power to match. The ball jumps off his bat as he exerts plus power to all fields, and he tapped it in games around DuPage County this year despite it really only being his junior season. The youth does become apparent with his hit tool, though. Similar to Blaze Jordan a few years back, he was a bit uneven against older competition on the showcase circuit and needs more seasoning in that regard. Like many big sluggers, he can be slow getting going with his swing and sometimes struggles to catch up to quality stuff in the zone. A fringy runner, he'll be limited to an outfield corner in pro ball but his above average arm could help him stick in right field. The White Sox are buying the power here and hope that his youth is the main reason behind his inconsistent hit tool, and that he'll pull it together as he matures. So far in the Arizona Complex League, he is slashing .225/.392/.325 with one home run and a 17/9 strikeout to walk ratio through 13 games.
8-239: OF Eddie Park, Stanford {video}
Slot value: $199,900. Signing bonus: $200,000 ($100 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #196. Prospects Live: #182.
If George Wolkow's youth, size, and power put him on one extreme, then Eddie Park occupies the other extreme. On the older side for a college junior, he's four and a half years older than Wolkow and is coming off his best season for Stanford, slashing .333/.413/.475 with six home runs and a 25/37 strikeout to walk ratio over 63 games. Though he hit those six home runs in 2023 (after hitting none in 2021 and 2022), he has near bottom of the scale power with some of the lowest top end exit velocities in the entire class, rarely cracking 100 MPH this year. Instead, he uses his quick left handed swing and short follow through to slap balls around the field, with excellent feel for the barrel and the ability to elevate and turn on the ball when he needs to. Park rarely chases and rarely swings and misses, leading to just a 7.8% strikeout rate in 2023 as he forced defenses to make plays. He doesn't ever need to become a power hitter, though those low exit velocities will put pressure on his ability to continue to use the whole field and find holes, something that gets tougher as pitching and defenses get better in pro ball and the Major Leagues. Park is an above average runner that can stretch for extra bases at times, and that also gives him a shot to stick in center field. Not overly physical, the San Jose native doesn't have much of an arm and will have to move to left field if a better defender locks down center field. He's hitting about as expected so far, slashing .283/.377/.283 with a 13/8 strikeout to walk ratio over 16 games between the Arizona Complex League and Low A Kannapolis.
12-359: RHP Mathias LaCombe, Cochise JC [AZ] {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $450,000 ($300,000 against bonus pool).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #372. Prospects Live: #361.
The White Sox emptied the last remaining money from heir bonus pool into Mathias LaCombe, giving him early fifth round money here in the twelfth round. LaCombe is from way off the beaten path, having grown up in Toulouse, South of France before coming over to the states to pitch at Cochise JC in an empty stretch of desert on the Mexican border. After an unremarkable year in 2022, he broke out in 2023 with a 1.74 ERA and a 97/14 strikeout to walk ratio over 67.1 innings, quickly establishing himself as a legitimate prospect. He sits in the low 90's with his fastball but can reach back for 97 in short stints with running action. His slider has nice sweeping action to it, though it does need to add power, and his changeup is a bit behind the other two. He has a bit of a raw delivery where he looks like he's just flinging the ball at times, but he still repeats it well and fills up the strike zone. With projection remaining on his 6'2" frame, LaCombe is great clay for the White Sox player development program to get their hands on and mold into an impact starting pitcher.
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