White Sox stay local, draft Oswego East product Noah Schultz

The White Sox like drafting left-handed pitchers in the first round.

Tall, left-handed pitchers.

In 2010, the Sox selected 6-foot-6 Chris Sale with the No. 13 overall pick.

Ten years later, it was Garrett Crochet - also 6-foot-6 - at No. 11 overall.

The trend continued Sunday night, and the White Sox stayed local while drafting 6-foot-9 lefty Noah Schultz with the No. 26 overall pick in the draft.

"Best night of my life," Schultz said. "It's always been a dream of mine to play in the major leagues. Being drafted by the hometown team, it's just something I've been looking forward to my entire life. It was surreal."

An Aurora native, the 18-year-old Schultz was ranked by Perfect Game as the No. 1 overall prospect in Illinois this season, even though he missed most of his senior year at Oswego East High School due to mononucleosis and bad weather.

Schultz has been pitching for the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp in the Prospect League, going 1-0 with a 0.93 ERA in 6 games while striking out 37 in 19⅓ innings.

"I have a four-seam fastball, slider and changeup," the 220-pounder said. "I'm very confident in all of them. I'm excited to see how they can take off and become the best they can in the future."

A Vanderbilt commit, Schultz said he won't be pitching in college. His sisters play softball at Northwestern and Stanford.

"I am a Chicago White Sox now," Schultz said. "It was a great school to be committed to, but I think this opportunity is something I could not pass up. I'm excited to see what happens in the future."

Schultz said he's attended two Sox games this season, not that he's ever been a big fan.

"My dad growing up was always a Los Angeles Dodgers fan, so growing up that was the team I always watched," Schultz said.

The White Sox are just happy top have Schultz in their system.

"Noah is a rare talent, and it was a bit unexpected to us that he would be available at pick No. 26," said Mike Shirley, the Sox's director of amateur scouting. "We could not be more excited about his future. He is a 6-foot-9, left-handed pitcher who moves very athletically. We believe Noah has a huge ceiling, can anchor a rotation down the road and will be part of something very special for the White Sox.

"His talent and character speak loudly today and we believe will be even louder in the future."