CHICAGO -- No specific names were given by White Sox director of amateur scouting Mike Shirley when asked this past weekend about his team’s first-round plans for Day 1 of the 2025 MLB Draft presented by Nike on Sunday night. But Shirley provided details of the work put in by the organization to prepare for possibilities at No. 10, representing the White Sox first-round selection. Draft coverage:
Day 1 (Rounds 1-3): Sun., July 13, 5 p.m. CT (MLBN/MLB.com/ESPN)
Day 2 (Rounds 4-20): Mon., July 14, 10:30 a.m. CT (MLB.com)
• Top 250 prospects | Order | Combine | Latest mock • Bonus pools & pick values | Complete coverage • Everything you need to know “We are looking at two college hitters, there’s two strong college pitchers we like, there’s about five high school shortstops that we worked really hard on, and there’s one high school pitcher that is extremely talented,” Shirley told MLB.com. “His talent is something that makes you pay attention to him. “It's not a preference to go that way, but when you have that many weapons, all the boxes you are looking for a high school right-handed starter to check, he checks a lot of those things pretty easy. And he’s an unbelievable kid. That puts us at a pretty good number that we worked extremely hard to get where we are at today. “As far as who we are picking?” Shirley added. “I can’t get there with you.” |
“Look, [general manager] Chris Getz has a serious plan for what he’s trying to build in this organization,” Shirley said. “Up-the-middle field players are the piece of the puzzle that really you can do a lot with. They have the athleticism, the skills, the mindset, the instincts to play multiple [positions] and help your team in multiple sectors. “Today, when you look at high school shortstops, that’s like playing quarterback. It is the most important piece on the field. A lot of the great players are morphing toward that direction. That’s a piece of the puzzle that’s not going to change for a while. These guys are the best athletes or the best players.” • Day 1 picks: 10, 44, 76 • Bonus pool allotment: $12,169,100, sitting 14th in MLB • Last year’s top pick: LHP Hagen Smith. Despite being pitching heavy in their rebuild, the White Sox went with one of the truly elite arms in the Draft via their No. 5 overall selection. Smith, 21, has 50 strikeouts in 30 innings covering nine starts for Double-A Birmingham after taking a two-month reset, including work in Arizona, to focus on biomechanics issues and let soreness subside in his left elbow. • Breakout 2024 pick: Bonemer. The high school second-round draftee (pick No. 43) and 19-year-old from Michigan has an .826 OPS, seven home runs, 40 RBIs, 44 runs scored and 20 stolen bases in his first professional season up the middle for Single-A Kannapolis. White Sox Draft meetings began Sunday and will run throughout the entire week. Shirley praised Getz and the organization for deploying so many people from the front office outside of their four national scouts, four regional crosscheckers and 16 area scouts, leaving them infinitely prepared for this now two-day event. It's more than just the No. 10 pick for a White Sox organization coming off 121 losses in 2024, as it holds the first selection in every other round. This Draft comes one year prior to what could be a top pick for the White Sox in 2026. |
All these players are essential components to this ongoing rebuild, with the team making strides in ’25 despite the 30-60 record entering the final first-half homestand. Moves center around the $12,169,100 bonus pool and the $6,238,400 slotted for the No. 10 pick. “Financially, we are looking at how to do a lot with our pool stuff,” Shirley said. “That’s a plan we have going into this. I think that’s important to do the best work. “The high school group, the high school position players, have been unbelievable. That’s been the strong point of this Draft in my opinion. That’s the place we are looking the heaviest at this point.” |
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STATUES AND CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Ken “Hawk” Harrelson, the Hall of Famer and iconic White Sox television play-by-play voice, might not be in attendance for Saturday’s 20-year reunion of the 2005 World Series champions. But he certainly will be at Rate Field for the Mark Buehrle statue unveiling on the concourse Friday night, with a rare 7:10 p.m. CT first pitch. “He's such a wonderful guy, too,” Harrelson told MLB.com of Buehrle. “I’m so happy they are getting a statue of him.” Buehrle has been Harrelson’s self-proclaimed favorite White Sox player. One of the greatest broadcasts in his illustrious career came when Buehrle threw a perfect game against the Rays at home on July 23, 2009. |
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• Jon Garland told me during a recent interview how the late Bobby Jenks, as a younger hurler, had a knuckleball that was “dirtier” than his curve. He was afraid to throw it for fear of the White Sox getting mad, per Garland. “I told him, ‘Listen, if you get outs, nobody is going to be mad,’” Garland said. “They don’t care how you do it. You keep getting outs.” • Yacht Rock Night is Thursday at the Rate, which reminds me I’m going to see a show with Christopher Cross, Toto and Men at Work during August in Tinley Park, Ill. |
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“It was tough to sleep last night, thinking about what the next week will look like and trying to understand where I've been and where I'm trying to go.” -- Right-hander Shane Smith, on moving from the top pick in the 2024 Rule 5 Draft to an All-Star “I've had a great support staff, with my family and with the coaches. Every single day, they would tell me that I belong there and I'm going to be a big leaguer. They just kept reiterating it and kept telling me, and that's really what helped me keep going.” -- Montgomery, on getting help navigating his Triple-A Charlotte struggles |
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