The White Sox will pay a high price for their poor performance with a high draft pick in June’s amateur draft.
But the reward could be satisfying, depending on the quality of the homework they started shortly after their encouraging 2007 draft.
“We’ll have more eyes on certain players,” scouting director Doug Laumann said. “In the past, we’d look at about 25 guys [as first-round candidates]. We can take a look at a guy several times now.”
The process is important to the Sox (68-88), who will try to bolster their farm system or even aim for a fast-track player who can help the major-league team at a specific position. But they will have little choice but to pay for top-notch talent next summer because of their poor 2007 season.
Nine of the top 10 picks in the 2007 draft received bonuses of at least $2 million, and four of the top five players received bonuses of at least $3.2 million.
That’s a significant bump from the $1.2 million the Sox gave University of San Francisco left-hander Aaron Poreda as the 25th overall selection.
“There could be five or six college guys who we wouldn’t have scouted in past years because they wouldn’t be around when it came to our turn,” Laumann said. “We can still pick anywhere from second to 10.”
The Sox would have an interesting situation if they keep Joe Crede and Josh Fields for 2008 and Vanderbilt third baseman Pedro Alvarez is available. Ditto with Paul Konerko and Jim Thome if power-hitting South Carolina first baseman Justin Smoak is on the draft board.
But the Sox haven’t been shy about drafting college pitchers in the first round, and Brian Matusz of the University of San Diego, Aaron Crow of Missouri and Tyson Ross of California could allow them to trade a starting pitcher to address another area.
Laumann and his scouts have reviewed their lists of draft-eligible players and will update their reports on top players in the Cape Cod League, Team USA and other summer leagues and tournaments.
The Sox will continue their evaluations during fall workouts and “scout” days that several college programs conduct in the fall.
Darin Erstad remembers some of the scrutiny he endured before his selection as the No. 1 pick by the Angels in the 1995 draft.
“After that summer in the Cape, obviously there was quite a bit of attention,” said Erstad, who also was a punter at Nebraska. “Probably one of the best things was football, so I wasn’t around a lot. All my hitting was done in the cage, and I didn’t practice with the baseball team [in the fall] because I was consumed with football.
“When the season started and there were 30 scouts, you realize there’s a little bit of interest.”
The Sox made the most of their high picks in 1987 with Jack McDowell and 1990 with Alex Fernandez. Both players pitched in the majors in the same year they were drafted.
But manager Ozzie Guillen, a veteran teammate of both players, knew they were exceptions.
“We sent Jack down once [in 1989], not because he wasn’t performing,” Guillen said. “But his attitude wasn’t one to fit on the club when (manager) Jim Fregosi was here. Then all of a sudden, I think Jack mentally and physically was prepared to pitch on the big-league level.
“The first time he walked out there, we knew he was ready. The same thing with Alex. They had the cockiness and confidence to do it. But very few people come out of college to the majors right away.
“You’re not going to see it very often. They struggle at the beginning and all of a sudden turn it around. They may have good arms, but this game is a mental battle, day in and day out. It’s a grind, and you have to prepare yourself for that.”
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mgonzales@tribune.com
