Gregor: Chicago White Sox will draft Madrigal or Singer at No. 4
Monday is draft day, and there is one obvious question.
Who will be the Chicago White Sox's choice with the No. 4 overall pick?
We have examined four potential picks over the last week, and I think the Sox's wish list starts with Oregon State second baseman/shortstop Nick Madrigal, moves to Florida starting pitcher Brady Singer and ends with third basemen Alec Bohm from Wichita State and Jonathan India, Singer's teammate with the Gators.
Most outlets plugged into the draft have Auburn starter Casey Mize going to the Detroit Tigers with the first overall pick, followed by Georgia Tech catcher Joey Bart to the San Francisco Giants at No. 2 and Bohm to the Philadelphia Phillies at No. 3.
If that holds, the White Sox have the option of drafting Madrigal or Singer.
Two weeks ago, Sox general manager Rick Hahn saw Madrigal play against USC in Los Angeles. While he is only 5-feet-8, 165 pounds, Madrigal has been compared to Jose Altuve and Dustin Pedroia, and the right-hander had a .406/.473/.594 hitting line heading into the Beavers' NCAA regional championship game Sunday night.
According to OSU coach Pat Casey, Madrigal is a can't-miss talent.
"He's going to be a big-leaguer in a short period of time," Casey told The Oregonian. "He's going to play the game for a long time. His instincts are off the charts, and I give him a ton of freedom because he's a thoroughbred. You've got to turn him loose.
"He works his tail off and he's a humble kid, a great kid. If you had a blueprint for a baseball player with Nick's picture, that's all you'd need. He's pretty (darn) good."
So is Singer, who returned to the mound for Florida on Saturday night after missing three weeks with a hamstring injury. The 6-5, 210-pounder pitched 7 innings against Jacksonville and allowed 2 runs on 5 hits to go with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts.
Singer was voted Baseball America's National Player of the Year and the SEC's Pitcher of the Year last week, and he held hitters in college baseball's toughest conference to a .186 average.
When Singer was sidelined with the hamstring issue, Nick Hostetler, White Sox director of amateur scouting, wasn't at all concerned.
"We've seen what he is since high school," Hostetler said. "We've seen him a lot. We have a long track record with him. You're talking about a big-game Friday night guy that has taken the ball every Friday night against the best teams in the country and the best conference (SEC) in the country, and he's put up just amazing numbers."
There has been some speculation that the White Sox are going to draft a high school player such as outfielder Nick Schnell with their first-round choice. That would save slot money that can spent to pay more for later picks.
Anything is possible, but the feeling here is the Sox aren't going to take a gamble like that and ultimately will decide between Madrigal and Singer.
"We have to go with the best player, the guy that we feel has the best toolset, has the biggest ceiling and is going to help us win here," Hostetler said. "I feel pretty confident on the guy I want. We're still open-minded, we're still talking back and forth.
"The money part of it is starting now to come into it just with all the agent calls and everything like that, but I do feel pretty confident that we're all on the same page with that."
Major League Baseball has set the slot value of this year's No. 4 draft pick at $6.4 million. That is more than half of the White Sox's allotted $10.5 million for the entire draft.