With first-round pick (No. 15 overall), White Sox draft Ole Miss shortstop Jacob Gonzalez

When the Oakland Athletics announced their first-round pick Sunday night, Jacob Gonzalez was a little excited.

"I got my hopes up for half a second," Gonzalez said.

The A's wound up drafting shortstop Jacob Wilson with the No. 6 overall pick and Gonzalez was still on the board when the White Sox's pick came up at No. 15.

They were happy Gonzalez was available.

"We could not be more excited to add a talent like Jacob to the White Sox organization," said director of amateur scouting Mike Shirley. "He shows power that continues to evolve and his ability to control the barrel and strike zone are mature. His instincts to play shortstop are unique, as is his overall ability and how he approaches the game.

"Jacob shows up every day to play and is going to be a consistent performer for us. He was an integral part of an Ole Miss championship team and he is going to bring that type of leadership to this organization."

The 21-year-old Gonzalez helped Mississippi win the College World Series for the first time in school history in 2022.

This year, the left-hander hit .327/.435/.564 with 18 doubles, 10 home runs, 51 RBI and 46 runs in 54 games for the Rebels.

In 2022, the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder hit 18 homers.

"My sophomore year, I got a little bit pull happy and hit more home runs but my average went down," said Gonzalez, who is from Glendora, California. "This past year, I was hoping to drive the ball the other way and I'm still figuring it out now and I'm getting to where I'm driving the ball over the fence in left field. It's just being able to spread out the power."

Defensively, Gonzalez has improved over his three years at Ole Miss but he's not a finished product.

"Out of 10, I would give myself a C right now," Gonzalez said. "I would say I'm pretty average but I'm still getting better. I think I cans stick there. (Rangers shortstop) Corey Seager, he's been there his whole career. I feel like we're pretty similar. We're not the fastest guys but we're going to get to a lot of balls, be athletic and make plays look easy."

With their second-round pick (No. 51 overall), the White Sox drafted Grant Taylor, a right-handed pitcher from LSU.

Taylor missed the entire 2023 season with a ulnar collateral ligament injury. In 2022, he was 4-1 with a 5.81 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 31 innings.