Chicago White Sox director of amateur scouting Mike Shirley recalled the old-time philosophy that “you should take as many left-handers as you can take in a draft.”
The Sox chose five of them this week, including first-round pick Hagen Smith of Arkansas at No. 5 and high school pitcher Blake Larson with their competitive balance Round B selection at No. 68.
“I do like the amount of left-handers we took,” Shirley said Tuesday. “It starts at the top with Hagen and Mr. Larson.”
The Sox also drafted left-handers Justin Sinibaldi of Rutgers in the 14th round, Liam Paddack of Gonzaga in the 18th and UC Irvine’s Nick Pinto in the 19th.
The Sox selected 11 pitchers in all, five outfielders, three infielders, one catcher and one two-way player during the three days. Here are four takeaways from their 2024 draft.
1. Caleb Bonemer is excited for a different view of the AL Central.
Bonemer is from Detroit Tigers country. His family and friends are adding the Sox to their allegiance after the team drafted the shortstop in the second round (No. 43).
“We had a lot of people say that they’re going to have to get some White Sox stuff,” Bonemer said Monday. “Lot of Tigers fans, but I’m sure they’ll start turning to White Sox.”
Bonemer, from Okemos High School, was the Gatorade Michigan Player of the Year in 2024.
“Recently I’ve been working a lot on swing mechanics,” he said. “Had a little bit of a problem in the spring getting under balls a little bit, kind of dropping the backside a little bit. Tightening up some things in my swing has kind of been my main focus.”
Bonemer said growing up he was a “contact-first type of guy.”
“Last summer I kind of showed a little bit more of a power-type guy,” he said. “Just built on some power growing into my body a little bit. A little bit more power first, but I can probably upgrade my hit tool a little bit and (it’s) something I’ve been working on.”
2. College bats were a focus early on Day 2.
The Sox stocked up on college position players with their first four selections Monday, taking outfielders Nick McLain and Casey Saucke in the third and fourth rounds, respectively, infielder Sam Antonacci in the fifth and catcher Jackson Appel in the sixth.
“Very excited about the college position players we were able to acquire,” Shirley said Monday. “I like the bats.”
McLain, who hit .342 with 18 doubles and 12 homers this year for Arizona State, is the brother of Cincinnati Reds infielder Matt McLain.
“The tools are what they are,” Shirley said. “The ability to play baseball at a high level, compete, go in there day and day out and really get after it is something.
“But that sixth tool where you have an innate ability to play baseball and you like to play it and you come from those bloodlines, those bloodlines are real. We’ll feel like (Nick) has got the same intangibles.”
Saucke hit .344 with 14 home runs and 65 RBIs in 2024 for Virginia.
“We love the body, we love the athleticism,” Shirley said. “He’s starting to understand how his swing executes.”
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Antonacci, who played for Coastal Carolina, is from Springfield.
“He just really controls the barrel,” Shirley said. “It’s gap power. It’s really good bat control. He’s a zone manager. He does a lot and it’s going to be really competitive with those at-bats.”
3. Lyle Miller-Green provides a two-way possibility.
The Day 3 selections included Lyle Miller-Green in the 17th round. He hit 30 home runs and also made 11 starts on the mound for Austin Peay in 2024.
“He’s got maybe the best power in the draft outside of (Florida’s) Jac Caglianone,” Shirley said Tuesday. “The reason it was listed as two-way (outfield/pitcher), if you looked at the pitch metrics, (senior adviser to pitching) Brian Bannister liked some of the things he does off the mound too.
“So there is a low-cost opportunity for us to tap into possibly two sectors of the operation that we thought was super interesting.”
Discussing Miller-Green’s road to being drafted — which also included stops at George Mason, Chipola Junior College and Oklahoma State — Shirley noted “how much adversity this kid has faced.”
“He was born in Siberia and adopted,” Shirley said. “He’s done nothing but answer the bell on challenges in his life, relentlessly. He keeps performing. That’s called makeup. Makeup wins the day. This kid wants to prove people wrong.”
4. NIL is making an impact.
Shirley discussed the impact that name, image and likeness compensation for college players had on the draft.
“I was a little surprised, this NIL process has really changed the landscape of the value of these players,” Shirley said Tuesday. “Sometimes I get frustrated because I feel like college baseball is setting the market more so than Major League Baseball.
“I was just in negotiations at the end of the draft on a player and I finally had to ask the adviser, ‘What’s he getting to go back to school?’ I’m always shocked by the dollar figures being shared into that world that’s bumping into our draft a little bit. It’s something we have to pay attention to.
“I worry that the end game should be to be a major-league player. Sometimes people don’t understand how you have to get into the system and get your career moving. You have to figure out how to be a professional. And they just think they can keep going back to school because the money’s there.
“That’s not always accurate. Your runway and your career, you need to make sure you secure it when you can. So it’s a little frustrating for me from that perspective that guys are going about their business like that.”
White Sox 2024 draft picks
- Round 1 (No. 5): Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas
- 2 (43): Caleb Bonemer, SS, Okemos HS (Mich.)
- Comp-B (68): Blake Larson, LHP, IMG Academy (Fla.)
- 3 (78): Nick McLain, OF, Arizona State
- 4 (107): Casey Saucke, OF, Virginia
- 5 (140): Sam Antonacci, INF, Coastal Carolina
- 6 (169): Jackson Appel, C, Texas A&M
- 7 (199): Phil Fox, RHP, Pittsburgh
- 8 (229): Aaron Combs, RHP, Tennessee
- 9 (259): Jack Young, RHP, Iowa
- 10 (289): Cole McConnell, OF, Louisiana Tech
- 11 (319): Blake Shepardson, RHP, San Francisco
- 12 (349): Nathan Archer, OF, Bowling Green
- 13 (379): Pierce George, RHP, Alabama
- 14 (409): Justin Sinibaldi, LHP, Rutgers
- 15 (439): Mason Moore, RHP, Kentucky
- 16 (469): T.J. McCants, OF, Alabama
- 17 (499): Lyle Miller-Green, OF/RHP, Austin Peay
- 18 (529): Liam Paddack, LHP, Gonzaga
- 19 (559): Nick Pinto, LHP, UC Irvine
- 20 (589): 1B Myles Bailey, 1B, Lincoln HS (Fla.)
