Hostetler thrilled after Chicago White Sox complete key draft
On the eve of his first draft as the Chicago White Sox's director of amateur scouting, Nick Hostetler didn't fall back on tired clichés.
He cut right to the chase, if you'll pardon the tired cliché.
"One of our big things this year is we want to start getting more true baseball players in our system, guys that make contact, pitchers that throw strikes and pound the zone, and just get back to the tools of the game of baseball," Hostetler said.
For too many years, the Sox burned high draft picks on flashy talent that quickly flamed out.
Dating back to 2006, first rounders Kyle McCulloch and Jared Mitchell never made it to the major leagues. Gordon Beckham got off to a great start then quickly regressed. Aaron Poreda never panned out. Keenyn Walker looks like another swing and a miss while Courtney Hawkins remains a work in progress.
Give the White Sox credit for Chris Sale, and Carlos Rodon and Tim Anderson have bright futures on the South Side.
And give Hostetler credit for shooting straight, because the Sox's minor-league system does need more true players.
If properly stocked with talent, general manager Rick Hahn wouldn't constantly be trying to patch the 25-man roster together with castoff veterans like Jimmy Rollins, Mat Latos, Jerry Sands and Justin Morneau.
With three Top 50 picks in this year's draft, the Sox had a chance to beef up the system. Time will tell how Hostetler and his staff fared, but the top-end haul looks promising.
Let's start with catcher Zack Collins, the top pick at No. 10 overall.
Collins, an All-American catcher for the University of Mimai (Fla.), already possesses a left-handed power bat that can make a difference for the White Sox.
In the NCAA Super Regionals, Collins blasted a 3-run homer Friday off Boston College starter Justin Dunn, who was drafted by the New York Mets with the No. 19 overall pick.
Collins, who said his swing has been compared to Jim Thome, added a solo home run on Saturday.
During the regular season, the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder posted a .358/.534/.631 hitting line with 13 homers and 53 RBI in 57 games for the Hurricanes.
"The biggest thing is, I don't want the fans to think this is going to be here in Chicago in September, him doing that," Hostetler said. "There's some time and some adjustment he's going to need to make, but it's always fun. The worst thing would've been him going 0-4 with 4 strikeouts.
His catching ability is the big question mark on Collins, but the bat should one day fill a big need at the major-league level.
The White Sox were also ecstatic to get local product Zack Burdi with the No. 26 overall pick. Projected by Baseball America to go No. 9 to the Detroit Tigers, the Downers Grove native is a standout closer at Louisville and is very likely to be on the Sox roster later this season.
"There's a nice story, local kid, White Sox fan," Hahn said. "That wasn't why we drafted him, just sort of an ancillary benefit. But he's a fast-moving reliever with three plus-pitches who very well could contribute in the not too distant future."
Burdi's best pitch is the fastball, which topped out at 101 mph this season. He also throws a slider and changeup.
The Sox also like outfielders Alex Call (Ball State) and Jameson Fisher (Southeastern Louisiana), who were drafted on the third and fourth rounds.
In total, 24 of the White Sox's first 25 draft picks were collegiate players.
"I think we set out with a gameplan, and the gameplan was to add advanced college bats that understood the strike zone, got on base, baseball player type guys," Hostetler said. "Pitchers with high upsides as well as mix in a few guys that can throw strikes and win us some games.
"I think we did that and we accomplished that without sacrificing the ceiling that we need to sacrifice. We laid out a plan. We executed the plan. I couldn't be happier with it."