White Sox load up on 'polished bats' in draft
In December, the Chicago White Sox traded Chris Sale and Adam Eaton on consecutive days and got four high-end pitching prospects (Lucas Giolito, Michael Kopech, Reynaldo Lopez, Dane Dunning) in return.
They also got a needed bat from the Boston Red Sox in the Sale trade - Yoan Moncada.
But as Monday's amateur draft approached, the White Sox were focused on adding even more offense.
"When you look at the pieces (general manager) Rick (Hahn) brought in through trades and what we did last year in the draft, the middle of the order bats were important for us," said Nick Hostetler, the Sox's director of amateur scouting. "We got a third baseman and first baseman and right- and left-handed power with our first two picks. It went exactly as planned."
On Monday's first round, the Sox drafted Missouri State third baseman Jake Burger with the No. 11 overall pick.
On the second round, the White Sox drafted Wake Forest first baseman Gavin Sheets.
Burger, a right-handed hitter, ranks seventh in Division 1 college baseball with 22 home runs.
Sheets, a left-handed hitter, ranks eighth with 21 homers.
The Sox continued adding impact collegiate bats on Tuesday, drafting New Mexico center fielder Luis Gonzalez in the third round and TCU catcher Evan Skoug in the seventh round.
Skoug, a former standout at Libertyville High School, ranks 10th in Division 1 baseball with 20 home runs this season. Gonzalez posted a .361/.500/.589 hitting line in 55 games with the Lobos.
"We obviously emphasized the need for college bats, polished bats, that controlled the strike zone and came with a level of power we felt the system was lacking in some regard," Hahn said. "We feel with this draft, we are taking another step toward balancing out our prospect base and adding to the level of depth we want to have in terms of sustained success."
Burger flashed big power this season but struck out only 38 times in 247 at-bats. Sheets also piled up home runs and only struck out 34 times in 230 at-bats.
"When I came into college, the power was something I always felt was going to be the last thing to come," said Sheets, the son of former major leaguer Larry Sheets. "Being a contact hitter and hitting for singles and doubles throughout college has really helped to me now, as I have power and I'm hitting home runs and I still don't strike out a lot.
"That's something that has been really beneficial. It helps the way that guys have to pitch me."
Skoug is slashing .277/.385/.562 in 63 games for TCU, which is in the College World Series. He also struck out 87 times in 242 at-bats, which likely caused him to fall in the draft.
"He's a very driven kid," Hostetler said. "He's using this as a little bit of a slap in the face. He's excited to come back home. He's driven right now. There's going to be a little chip on his shoulder."
Not only did the White Sox draft Burger, Sheets, Gonzalez and Skoug, they invested $52 million in 19-year-old outfielder Luis Robert in late May.
"We view Luis as almost part of this draft class," Hahn said. "Between Robert and Burger, Sheets, Gonzalez and arguably the kid Skoug we just took, we got ourselves a fair amount of high-ceiling power bats that bring multiple balanced talent to a potential offense here in Chicago down the road.
"There is a optimism in the room and Luis is a part of that, and what they've accomplished here so far today in this draft and yesterday in this draft further cements that feeling."