White Sox stay committed to local players by drafting Nazareth’s Fauske in 2nd round
The White Sox have demonstrated a commitment to shopping local.
They took another area player early in the Major League Baseball draft, landing Nazareth Academy outfielder Jaden Fauske with the first pick of the second round, No. 44 overall. He joins Downers Grove North's George Wolkow and Oswego East's Noah Schultz as recent Sox draft picks.
“I've said all along, (if) there's local kids we feel like have the ability, the White Sox are going to be in there,” scouting director Mike Shirley said. “This is our city, man. We believe in the people that live here. He's a fan. He's a White Sox fan.
“We're not taking anything for granted; we think these players are worthy of this opportunity to be with us. So why not put them in their hometown? I'm excited to have another hometown kid on the resume.”
Fauske lives in Willowbrook and said his father is good friends with Matas Buzelis' dad. It's interesting that the Western suburb has now produced local draft picks for two Chicago pro teams.
Fauske told reporters on a Zoom call Monday he's a longtime regular at Rate Field and got to serve as a pregame bat boy when he was younger.
“It's a dream come true,” said Fauske, who was committed to LSU. “I mean, you think about that when you're sitting in the stands from when I was 12 years old, like, 'I want to be wearing these uniforms. I want to be playing on this field one day.' To see that materialize, it means everything.”
Former Sox slugger Jim Thome helps coach at Nazareth, and Fauske played for the White Sox-sponsored team in the Area Code Games the past two years. So the relationship was strong long before the draft.
“Jim Thome's a big part of our family, right?” Shirley said. “His knowledge about hitting, his comprehension about baseball players. He really believed in Jaden as well.”
Fauske grew up watching his brother Jake, who is 8 years older, play baseball, eventually landing at the University of Chicago.
In high school Fauske played on Nazareth's Class 3A title teams as a freshman and sophomore, playing third base and left field. After moving up to Class 4A, the Roadrunners lost to Mt. Carmel in each of the past two state tournaments.
Once a catcher, Shirley was impressed with the way Fauske transformed himself into an outfielder, increasing his speed and athleticism.
“(This is) the leanest I've ever been right now, worked really hard on that,” Fauske said. “Lean without sacrificing exit velo or bat speed or anything like that. I wanted to prove that I could play center field, not just be a hitter who could play in the outfield. I really worked on my speed.”
Between Thome, those who worked with the Area Code team, and Sox hitting coordinator Ryan Fuller, there was plenty of support for Fauske in the draft room.
“When the meetings started last week, it was evident that a lot of people thought Jaden was one of the best prep left-handed hitters in the class,” Shirley said. “So the ability to capture him was super exciting for us as a whole.”