As the 2025 MLB Draft quickly approaches, the Prospects Live team wants to make your life as easy as possible. In this series of articles, I'll be providing team-by-team analysis of their recent draft trends, their available draft capital for 2025, any areas of the draft they've heavily targeted, as well as a few names in this year's class that might fit into their historically preferred archetype.
Max Ellingsen
This analysis isn't sourced for the upcoming year, nor is it a guarantee the organization won't pivot from what they've done in the past. Simply put, this article aims to provide an in-depth look at teams and their recent draft classes to try and decipher trends that could help uncover players your favorite team might be targeting. It's far from a perfect science, but I've done my job if it makes things easier to follow on draft day.
Chicago White Sox
- 2025 Bonus Pool Value - $12,169,100 (14th)
- Top 100 selections - 10, 44, 76
The White Sox made history with their poor performance on the field last season, but they’ve got plenty to look forward to with a farm system that’s made serious headway in recent years. Unable to land any higher than the tenth pick thanks to the new anti-tanking rules, the White Sox have a rather average bonus pool and pick assortment, however there’s still plenty of opportunity to insert a talented player that fits their new timeline.
2024 Draft Overview
Owners of the fifth pick in this one, the White Sox opted for Hagen Smith ($240,000 overslot) after a dominant season in the SEC. Following up with prep shortstop Caleb Bonemer ($830,000 overslot) and prep lefty Blake Larson ($200,000 overslot), the White Sox pivoted to the college ranks and invested in ASU’s Nick McLain ($200,000 underslot), Virginia’s Casey Saucke ($165,000 overslot), and Coastal Carolina’s Sam Antonacci ($75,000 overslot). They continued their draft with a relative lack of funds and went chalk with college picks the rest of the way, however right-handers Phil Fox ($95,000 underslot) and Pierce George ($50,000 overslot) were interesting bullpen pieces. White Sox fans should be happy with the haul they came away with; There’s a solid mix of upside and floor here, and the progression of Antonacci’s power has been a major boost to his profile. It’s a little safe, but a sound class nonetheless.
2023 Draft Overview
Kicking things off with Ole Miss slugger Jacob Gonzalez ($590,000 underslot) with the 15th overall pick, the White Sox continued with fireballing LSU right hander Grant Taylor (slot) in the second and Wake Forest’s Seth Keener ($35,000 underslot) in the third. Another Ole Miss stalwart came in the fourth with Calvin Harris ($25,000 overslot) and fifth rounder Christian Oppor ($145,000 overslot) had some tremendous athleticism to go with an intriguing arsenal from the left side. The biggest coup came with seventh rounder George Wolkow ($750,000 overslot), a hulking slugger with tremendous raw power that was their third highest paid player in this class and was considered one of the better prep talents left on the board. The only other major signing bonus handed out in this year’s crop was 12th rounder Mathias LaCombe ($300,000 overslot), a JuCo arm out of Cochise College in Arizona, however I do have a soft spot for the undersized Rikuu Nishida ($20,000 overslot). Another class that doesn’t necessarily ooze projection, but there’s some interesting pieces that might become big league contributors in due time.
2022 Draft Overview
Chicago opted for hometown prep hurler Noah Schultz ($10,000 overslot) in the first round of the 2022 draft, netting a dynamic arsenal from the left side and plenty of projection to boot. Then injured starter Peyton Pallette ($340,000 overslot) came in the second while rival Georgia starter Jonathan Cannon ($320,000 overslot) followed in the third. UCSB shortstop Jordan Sprinkle (slot) provided a glove first shortstop with some offensive upside while the rest of the class fell victim to budget cuts to afford their early round spendings. They did manage to land Tim Elko in the 10th for $35,000 and Mason Adams in the 13th for $75,000, however this class is largely defined by Schultz and how he performs as a big leaguer. If you’re picking up on the general pattern here, it’s clear Chicago is aiming for floor with their draft picks, a strategy that I’m not sure I’m in love with. That said, taking shots on arms like Pallette and Taylor, though not inherently the biggest risk-reward out there, does aim to extract some value from an injured arm they predict would’ve gone higher otherwise. They’re taking risks, but I wouldn’t consider them overly bold ones.
Early Round Demographics
They’re a bit all over the board with their early round habits, but they seem to covet production at major programs regardless of position. Obviously this is a college-only observation that doesn’t apply to the handful of prep selections they’ve made over the past few years, but with how heavily they tend to skew to the college ranks, I think it’s a worthwhile observation to make. Additionally, they’re comfortable with some unorthodoxy in their players; None of Smith, Gonzalez, or Schultz were conventional in the way they went about the game and reflects Chicago’s risk tolerance may emphasize unique approaches/mechanics rather than riskier demographics that could flame out before Double-A. Look for high floor early.
Late Round Demographics
They’ve had a few hits late in recent years, however their biggest swing (Wolkow) hasn’t worked out as well as they’d likely hoped for. I think they’ll continue sticking with safe college players that have either the feel to hit or strike throwing capabilities and hope to extract a bit of extra juice out of them. It nets you quite a lot of bulk, but guys like Antonacci and Mason Adams show it can pay off.
Names to Know
Kyson Witherspoon, Oklahoma RHP - His short arm action might look a bit odd to the eye test, but Chicago has liked their SEC performers in recent years and he was utterly dominant all season. He could round out what is turning into quite the stable of arms and provide a right handed look to a lefty-centric system.
Ike Irish, Auburn C/OF - Irish carries a healthy amount of positional concerns, but he’s perhaps the most polished bat in this entire class and destroyed opposing SEC competition. I think he fits well here.
Jace LaViolette, Texas A&M OF - LaViolette has had a tough year after entering as the presumed 1.1, however there are enough raw tools with a history of production to warrant a first round pick. I can see Chicago dreaming on the 2024 version and hope his funky 2025 was an abnormality.
Discussion