Are White Sox, Cubs eyeing pitching help in this week's draft?

It's not real major-league baseball, but at least it's a fix.

Shut down for nearly three months by the coronavirus pandemic, there will finally be some baseball-related activity the next two days, even though it's been severely pruned.

It's the draft, and the first round (followed by seven Competitive Balance picks) is set for Wednesday night (ESPN, MLB Network).

Rounds 2-5 are scheduled for Thursday. The draft is usually 40 rounds, but it's been reduced this year in a cost-cutting measure by owners.

That presents some serious challenges for the White Sox's Mike Shirley and the Cubs' Dan Kantrovitz, who are both in their first years as amateur scouting directors.

With only five picks, the pressure to make them count is even greater.

"Obviously, you want to get five right," Shirley said. "That's for (darn) sure. We've just worked our tails off to make sure we have our board up to pick 142 because that's where our fifth-round selection is. We are prepared for any scenario that rolls off the board.

"It gives us a little bit more narrow focus knowing that you're on five rounds instead of 40, so in some ways it's changed your dynamic on you preparation. But we still have, from pick 1 to 150, we feel good where we have the players on the board, that's for sure."

The White Sox have the No. 11 overall pick in the first round after going 72-89 last season.

The Cubs, who were 84-78 in 2019, hold the No. 16 overall pick.

"The reality is everybody's just had to be a little bit more creative," Kantrovitz said. "The draft is always a situation where you're making decisions based on imperfect information and I think that's particularly true this year."

The draft is deep this year, particularly with college pitchers.

Here are two candidates the Sox and Cubs are each likely looking at:

White Sox

Baseball America has the Sox drafting Mick Abel, a right-handed pitcher out of Jesuit High School in Portland, Ore.

"A 6-foot-5, 180-pound right-hander, Abel touched 97 mph last summer but is more often in the 90-94 mph range," Baseball America wrote. "Because of the shortened 2020 season, Abel will be one of the most difficult prep players to assess. While teams should have lots of history with him thanks to his notoriety as an underclassman, which included striking out 2019 No. 5 overall pick Riley Greene, teams have little to nothing from this spring on the Oregon State commit.

"His high school team didn't play a single game, and the lack of recent information could give teams pause. Outside of a fastball that's a potentially plus offering, Abel has two quality secondaries. The first is a slider that plays firm in the 82-86 mph range. Abel also throws a changeup in the 81-85 mph range that has good tumble and fading life and consistently shows above-average quality."

MLB Pipeline has the White Sox taking North Carolina State catcher Patrick Bailey at No. 11.

That's an odd projection, considering the Sox already have two all-star catchers (Yasmani Grandal, James McCann) on the roster and solid organizational depth with Zack Collins, Yermin Mercedes and Seby Zavala.

Cubs

Baseball America has the Cubs drafting Tennessee pitcher Garrett Crochet at No. 16.

"A 6-foot-6, 218-pound southpaw with a fastball that is regularly in the 96-100 mph range as well as a plus breaking ball, Crochet could have the best overall stuff in the class and he certainly has the best stuff of any left-hander," Baseball America wrote. "The abbreviated 2020 season hurts Crochet, who doesn't have the track record of starting that many of the college arms around him do. Crochet split time as a starter and reliever during his freshman and sophomore seasons before entering his junior season (2020) with a full-time starting role. That was delayed, reportedly due to shoulder soreness, and Crochet made just one start against Wright State, when he threw 3⅓ innings with 6 strikeouts, before the season ended."

MLB Pipeline has the Cubs drafting Garrett Mitchell.

The UCLA product was batting .355/.425/.484 this spring before the season shut down. Mitchell is a gifted center fielder and has standout speed.