Why White Sox would draft another third baseman in first round
Addressing a hole that had become glaring since back issues moved Joe Crede off the roster following the 2008 season, the Chicago White Sox used their No. 11 overall pick in last year's draft on Jake Burger, a power-hitting third baseman out of Missouri State.
While the rebuilding Sox had players such as Yolmer Sanchez and Matt Davidson to fill the troublesome void at third while Burger polished his game in the minor leagues, that scenario has changed.
Ideally, the White Sox were hoping Burger would develop quickly this year and make a run at the 25-man roster in 2019. Realistically, though, Burger's ETA is out the window due to two Achilles tendon tears in his left leg.
The first one came in late February when Burger went down in a heap running to first base in a spring training game. The second came in early May, when the Achilles ruptured again while he was walking in his backyard in Arizona.
"Unfortunately for Jake, we are now back to square one," Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. "The prognosis remains positive once this is fully healed. We expect him to have no restrictions in the future with regards to his baseball career. But as was the case after the first repair, the clock is now at 12 months, once again, until we expect to see him back in competitive games and playing regularly."
The White Sox likely still see Burger as a future starter, but they've been linked to drafting collegiate third basemen Jonathan India or Alec Bohm with the No. 4 overall pick in Monday's amateur draft.
India plays for Florida, the defending national champions. Heading into Friday's NCAA tournament opener against Columbia, India led the Gators in batting (.362), home runs (17) and on-base percentage (.502) and was third with 42 RBI.
In his junior season at Wichita State, Bohm batted .339 with 16 home runs and 55 RBI while becoming the Shockers' first player to be named All-American since Casey Gillaspie in 2014. Gillaspie now plays for the Sox's Class AAA Charlotte farm team.
Even if Burger was healthy and putting up big numbers in the minor, director of amateur scouting Nick Hostetler said the team would consider drafting another third baseman on the first round this year.
"Absolutely," Hostetler said. "The one thing we don't do, especially picking this high, if you try to worry about what position a guy plays or what position you just took or what position you are strong at, ultimately you're not going to be taking the best player."
Since Hostetler took over as amateur scouting director, the Sox drafted catcher Zack Collins on the first round in 2016 and Burger last year.
"We took Zack two years ago and if we felt catcher was the best pick at pick No. 4 this year, we'd take him," Hostetler said. "If it's a third baseman this year, even after taking Jake last year, we'd take a third baseman. You just never know, and I think Jake's injury is a perfect example.
"You just never know what's going to happen with these kids. You take the best player and hope they all make it, and then Rick (Hahn) has a tough decision down the road to figure out how to get them all in the lineup."
• Twitter:@scotgregor