Hostetler, Chicago White Sox looking to land 'impact superstar' with No. 3 pick in draft

There is a sure sign the draft is drawing near.

One look at Nick Hostetler's face is all it takes.

Now in his fourth full season as the Chicago White Sox's director of amateur scouting, Hostetler has logged many months and long hours in the great outdoors evaluating college and high school talent.

You can tell by the tan lines around his eyes, the result of constantly wearing sunglasses while on the job.

"It is probably one of my trademarks," Hostetler said. "I'm not sure I could ever go to the orange glow that the President of the United States has. I'll stick with the sunglass tan."

The first two rounds of the draft are Monday, and the Sox have the No. 3 overall pick thanks to a 62-100 record last year.

The consensus among draft trackers is the White Sox take high school shortstop C.J. Abrams in the first round. Hostetler is very familiar with the 18-year-old shortstop from Blessed Trinity High School outside of Atlanta.

Not only does he expect the speedy Abrams to eventually pack plenty of muscle on to his current 6-foot-2, 185-pound frame, Hostetler has no doubt the prep superstar is going to stick at his natural position.

Tim Anderson is the Sox's current shortstop, he is reaching all-star status and he is under contract through 2022 with club options for 2023-24.

Hostetler doesn't see a conflict.

"In four or five years, we have no idea where we are going to be as an organization, what we are going to be, what that player is going to be," Hostetler said. "The development timeline is going to be different for everybody. Just look at last year. Right when we took Nick Madrigal, a lot of people said Yoan Moncada is our second baseman. Fast forward a year and he (Moncada) is now playing third base for us.

"There are so many different variables that come into this, that (general manager) Rick (Hahn) has to take into consideration when he's putting this team together. So when we look at the draft, we can't worry about position or anything along that line. We have to take the guy we feel is the best player there."

Whether it's Abrams or college slugger Andrew Vaughn or - if they fall - college catcher Adley Rutschman or prep shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., Hostetler is confident the White Sox are going to land a great player.

"It's a little bit more top heavy in this draft," he said. "I don't see the depth that we've seen the last few years. I think your Top 10 picks all have the ability to be impact superstars at the major-league level, which is a little higher than normal.

"But I think that as you get down further in the draft, let's say the third, fourth, fifth rounds, the depth isn't nearly as deep as what it has been in years past."