White Sox get their guy with No. 10 overall draft pick
Before Thursday night's first-year player draft, director of amateur scouting Nick Hostetler was asked if the White Sox had a specific player in mind with the No. 10 overall pick.
"We do," Hostetler said. "We focused in on a guy, and we'll be really excited if he gets there. Hopefully he does and we're all excited."
Zack Collins was there at No. 10, and the Sox pounced on the University of Miami (Fla.) All-American catcher.
"Extremely excited to add a player with Zack's catching ability and middle of the order bat to our organization," Hostetler said. "He was our No. 1 target since April."
With the No. 26 overall pick, which came as compensation from San Francisco after the Giants signed free-agent starter Jeff Samardzija, the White Sox drafted Louisville closer Zack Burdi.
With the No. 49 overall pick, the Sox selected Oklahoma starter Alec Hansen.
Collins, a 21-year-old junior, has a .358/.534/.631 hitting line with 9 doubles, 13 home runs and 53 RBI in 57 games for the third-ranked Hurricanes, who play Boston College in the NCAA Super Regionals this weekend.
He was wearing a White Sox cap after being drafted, but Collins said his girlfriend purchased hats from every major-league team just to be safe.
"You know, there's been a lot of interest throughout the season with a lot of teams," Collins said. "I don't know, I didn't have a for sure feeling that (the Sox) were going to pick me or they weren't going to pick me. But I'm very excited to hopefully win a national championship coming up soon and get my professional baseball career going."
Collins' potent bat is already viewed as being major-league ready.
"I've actually had some people tell me my swing kind of looks like Jim Thome," the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder said.
Collins' catching skills still need work, and he might wind up as a designated hitter or first baseman when he does reach the major leagues.
"There's always improvements to be made," Collins said of his defense. "I made huge improvements throughout this past year, even past six months."
Burdi, who graduated from Downers Grove South High School, was 7-3 with a 1.55 ERA and 20 saves the last two seasons as Louisville's closer.
"It's an absolute dream come true, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a Chicago kid, but it is," Burdi said. "Being a White Sox fan growing up, going to games, seeing the (Paul) Konerkos and Frank Thomases, it was something I looked forward to and something I always wanted to go to and be a part of."