White Sox, Cubs hit their targets in first round of draft
On the first round of the draft Sunday night, the White Sox and Cubs both addressed glaring needs.
The Sox have been stockpiling young pitching talent like Jared Kelley, Matthew Thompson and Andrew Dalquist in recent years, so they were looking for infield help this time around.
With the No. 22 overall pick, the White Sox landed shortstop Colson Montgomery out of Southridge High School in Huntingburg, Ind.
The Cubs have had trouble getting homegrown pitchers to Wrigley Field, so they used their No. 21 overall pick on Kansas State left-hander Jordan Wicks.
Montgomery, a standout basketball player who drew Division I interest and a quarterback in football, could be shifted to third base given his size (6-foot-4, 205 pounds).
His position will be determined down the road, but the left-handed hitter has a preference.
"I see myself as a shortstop long-term," Montgomery said. "I'm athletic, I'm able to play the position and that's where I see myself."
The 19-year-old Montgomery batted .333 and had 7 home runs, 23 RBI and 24 stolen bases while leading Southridge to the Class 3A state championship.
Heading into the draft, White Sox director of amateur scouting Mike Shirley raved about the surplus of prep infield talent available this year.
Shirley has no doubt the Sox got a great one in Montgomery.
"I've known and heard about this player since he was 14, 15 years old," Shirley said. "The first time I got a really good look at him was in the state championship game I believe in his freshman year of high school. He's famous. He really, really blew me away when I went to see him this spring, I could not believe how much progress he had made from the fall, because I was watching him a lot in the fall.
"He shows up. He's got that kind of impact talent, the left-handed bat has both hit and power. He has presence on the field. He's made so much defensive improvement. He's the one that screamed, 'Hey, I'm your guy.'"
After becoming the White Sox's first high school top draft pick since Courtney Hawkins in 2012, Montgomery is ready to get going.
"Just a whole bunch of waves of emotions come in, especially with all the hard work, everything I've put into the sport," he said. "It all paid off. It's just the beginning. I'm very honored and blessed to have this opportunity to continue my next chapter with the White Sox.
Wicks, 21, went 6-3 with a 3.70 ERA and 118 strikeouts in 92⅓ innings for Kansas State this season.
Wicks started 34 games in three seasons for the Wildcats, going 15-6 with a 3.24 ERA and a school-record 230 strikeouts in 203 innings.
"I'm excited to get in there and compete," Wicks said. "I want to get in there and work my way up through the organization and see what they want to do."