The Tigers and Twins are clearly ahead of the Sox, Royals and Indians by Baseball America’s reckoning. Some of the more notable White Sox draftees during this period include Gordon Beckham, Dan Hudson, Chris Getz, Clayton Richard and Oakland A’s prospect Chris Carter. The Indians, who failed to sign a draft eligible sophomore by the name of Tim Lincecum in 2005, have had little success to date during this period, with Jensen Lewis being one of their more productive draftees. The Tigers hit big in 2007 with Rick Porcello, who could anchor their staff for years to come, and Casey Crosby, who is amongst the best LHP prospects in baseball. Two of their ‘08 draftees, catcher Alex Avila and reliever Ryan Perry have already logged significant Major League time. The Royals’ most notable pick is ‘05 draftee Alex Gordon, who despite not quite taking off as hoped, has been worth the $4m investment. The Twins’ selection of Matt Garza at 25th overall in 2005 has proven to be one of the better picks in what was a stacked 2005 draft, the Twins also landed Kevin Slowey that year.
Is it fair to judge success merely by the players each team has selected? Possibly, but we know that draft position plays a large part in determining which players a team can get from the top of the draft. The White Sox “earned” their first top 10 pick in 17 years and they respond with an A grade draft in 2008. So the next thing I want to do is list which picks each team had in the first rounds and supplemental first rounds.

Average relates to each team’s first pick only, compensatory picks were not included in the average. The White Sox had the third highest average pick to match their joint third highest GPA but the thing that jumps out is the Royals’ average pick of 2nd overall. When you’re drafting that high every year you have to do better than the Royals have done. Their 2.38 GPA ties for 21st amongst all teams.
It’s tough to say which team has drafted the best from just looking at GPA’s and average draft position. In recent years money has started to play a bigger factor in the draft and the Tigers are one of the teams who have been very willing to spend above and beyond in order to get their guy. So the next thing I want to look at is how much each team has spent in the first round, and how much each team has spent overall. The total amount spent is on the left, then amount in parentheses is how much was spent on first round and supplemental first round picks.

So here we can see that the Sox have spent significantly less than every other team in the division. I guess this means the scouting department should be given extra slack for some of the more disappointing drafts, particularly of ‘05 and ‘06. For a team of this size and in this market, however, I find the budgetary decision to be a very strange one. You can’t simply point at not having high draft picks as a reason for not spending. There are plenty of opportunities to pick high profile, high potential prospects later on in the draft but the Sox have been completely disinterested. Kenny Williams must be aware of the importance of developing from within and given the organization’s resistance to signing top tier free agents, drafting well is essential. Even if you build through trades as Kenny likes to do, you obviously need to have the prospects in the first place in order to trade them.
As for the other teams, it’s no surprise to see the Royals heading the list of money spent. When you pick as high as they do every year you’re having to spend $3.5m+ just to sign your top pick. I was expecting the Tigers to be the big over slot spenders, but actually it was the Indians who spent the most money from rounds 2 and onwards with an average of roughly $3.5m, the Royals were the second highest spenders in this area at $2.8m. Again the White Sox were the most stringent team, spending an average of $1.4m per year in rounds 2 and onwards.
Finally I want to neutralize the draft budgets to see which team got the best bang for their bucks. To find a new, budget neutral, GPA, I’m simply going to divide each teams original GPA by their average spent and then multiply that by a new budget that will be the same for each team. The average spent by all five teams was $5.04m, so this seems like a suitable total to use for the new draft budget.

Well that looks good for the White Sox. They haven’t spent a lot of money, but they have spent well working from the BA rankings. Now these of course are not definitive rankings, there’s still a lot that can change with the draft grades, particularly the ‘07 and ‘08 grades, and even then there’s a lot of subjectivity in them. I thought that all the AL Central teams had good drafts in 2008 and I would not be surprised to see some of those B’s turn into A’s, for example. The continued development of Chris Getz, Clayton Richard and Chris Carter should bump up the Sox grade for 2005 as another example.
The new GPA does make you wonder what the White Sox system might look like right now if they had invested even an average amount of money into the draft. Unfortunately I don’t see the draft budget increasing any time soon, not unless we see a change of management, anyway. Kenny Williams seems to have a great ability of wrangling money out of Jerry Reinsdorf, and if he had really wanted to spend $5m+ on the draft, I’m sure he could have gotten it.
So while the Sox may have had several poor drafts during this four year period, it does not mean that their scouting department is necessarily doing a bad job. Each team has a different draft budget, and therefore it is unfair to judge them all on the same scale. You can’t expect the White Sox to draft as well as teams who are consistently spending $5m, $6m, $7m or more per year on the draft because it just isn’t realistic.

Favorite Pick

SC: Ryan Buch
I think the Sox got great value with Buch in the 8th round. He’s got the potential to become a mid-rotation starter due to his solid three pitch mix of a low to mid 90’s fastball, excellent curve and improving change. The command of his fastball can be erratic which is what could prevent him from reaching his potential but he’s definitely the prime candidate to be next year’s Dexter Carter or Dan Hudson. I think Buch had value even in the second round so to draft him in the 8th and sign him for slot money looks like a great job by the Sox. Lot’s of projectability here.

DS: Kyle Bellamy
In terms of best value at the round the player was taken, I really like Bellamy. He dominated at Miami in the tough ACC for 2 years and has the stuff and deception with his sidearm delivery to fly through the minors (he is already doing very well in Kannapolis). His high 80s fastball has good sink and his slider is effective. His strikeout to walk ratio is spectacular so far, which is somewhat expected because he was a very advanced reliever out of college. It might be generous to say his upside is as a setup man, but chances are good he will be the first member of this White Sox draft class to make it to the Majors.

Least Favorite Pick

SC: Justin Collop
There are definitely things to like about Collop; he’s athletic, has a fast arm and three workable pitches when he’s on but he’s been very inconsistent, his command isn’t good and his secondary pitches fell off during the second half of the season resulting in Collop getting hit hard. There’s too much uncertainty and not enough upside in Collop for me to call this pick anything other than a reach. I think Collop is the type of prospect that you take a flier on in the 10-14 round range, not the 6th.

DS: Matt Hopps
I’ll put Hopps in the never to interview with us category. He signed for well under slot and has only been pitching for a few years so there is projectability for his age (23), but I think the odds are against him more than the rest of the top 10 picks. The term least favorite fits best because I don’t dislike the pick, it was the 9th round after all, but I feel that there is the least to like about Hopps relative to other somewhat high picks.

Biggest Sleeper

SC: Dan Black
The 14th rounder Black hasn’t had the best of results in the early going, but I really like his combination of plus power and fantastic plate discipline. He doesn’t have a position and has been playing a lot of first base, it’s unfortunate that he couldn’t stick at the position he played a lot in college, that being catcher, because then he really would be a prospect. But as it is I believe in the bat, even at first, so hopefully Dan Black doesn’t prove me wrong.

DS: Kyle Colligan
Colligan is an athletic outfielder, something the Sox seemed to grab a lot of this draft, and has done well at Great Falls this year. He did well in the Big 12 at Texas A&M and can play a solid centerfield while hitting for some pop. He’s been getting on base at a great clip with the Voyagers this season, living up to my own expectations of him. He is an advanced hitter that shouldn’t have too much trouble with A ball pitching in 2010. I’m not expecting him to set the world on fire, but he should do well. For a 12th rounder, I think he has the ability to be an under the radar prospect that does well without much notice.

Most Likely to Bust

SC: Trayce Thompson
Thompson was probably my second favourite pick of the whole draft behind Buch, but there is a huge amount of bust potential with Trayce. He’s very raw and has a long swing leading to a lot of strikeouts. Those are two big red flags for a prospect, but there is also an awful lot to like about Trayce. If he puts it all together Thompson could become a prototypical right fielder with great power, arm strength and solid defense, however it will almost certainly take him a long time to get there.

DS: Trayce Thompson
He is the highest high schooler the Sox selected and he is widely considered a raw prospect. I love the pick and the upside, but by definition a raw player is more likely to bust than most. He’s a ways away from the Majors if he gets there so fans will need to be patient with his development. It will be interesting to see if Thompson starts next year in Kannapolis or if the Sox are going to take it slowly with him and have him in extended spring training before rookie ball.

First to the Majors

SC: Kyle Bellamy
Bellamy was a dominant reliever for the Hurricanes. He’s very polished and gets lots of ground balls with a good amount of strikeouts from his two-seam fastball and sweeping slider, both of which he has great command of. He was described by one prospect evaluator as “Death on right handers” and ultimately may have to settle for a job as a ROOGY, although he could potentially become a late inning reliever, possibly even a closer. Unlike last years supposed fast riser Drew O’Neil, Bellamy made light work of rookie ball and I don’t think an assignment to Birmingham for the start of next year would be too aggressive, although Winston-Salem is his more likely destination.

DS: Kyle Bellamy
My reasoning for this is mostly why I said he was my favorite pick. He was a first-team All-American in college and has the stuff to dominate A ball hitters. Great sink on his pitches leads to a great groundball rate and he has been striking guys out so far in the minors. Sidearm guys seem to move quickly in general and I don’t think Bellamy will be an exception to that.

The One That Got Away

SC: Bryan Morgado
There were better prospects that the Sox failed to sign but Morgado would have filled the biggest need, that need being left-handed pitching prospects which aren’t still 4 years away. Morgado struggled a lot with his command while at Tennessee which stopped him pitching up to his stuff (he has a first round arm). The White Sox don’t exactly have the best reputation for developing prospects but they’ve done well just recently and it would have been interesting to see what they could have done with Morgado.

DS: Justin Jones
Morgado is the easier pick here because he was drafted in the 3rd round, but I really started to like Jones based on the things I was reading about him after the draft. Word was his velocity was improving and he supposedly had a very good curveball. He seemed like a high upside pick for the 7th round, but he probably realized that too and decided college would improve his draft stock 3 years from now. It’s hard to argue with that and the White Sox have been known to redraft players (Chris Getz, Jordan Danks, Ricky Brooks) so maybe we will see the same with Jones down the road. It seems like the Sox weren’t going to go over slot on any of their draftees, which is acceptable as long as the talent they did sign makes up for it.

Overall Thoughts

SC: I liked a lot of picks that were made but I wonder if there’s enough impact talent here because outside of Jared Mitchell, Thompson, Josh Phegley and Buch I don’t see anyone who could become a significantly above average starter. The Sox really could have done with signing one or more of the Justin Jones, Bryan Morgado and Dane Williams trio after dealing a lot of their pitching depth in the Peavy trade, but unfortunately they were not able to, so they will have to wait for either off-season trades or next year’s draft to plug this hole in the system. I do like the direction that the organisation seems to be taking with their draft mentality, moving away from the “safer” picks such as Broadway and McCulloch a few years ago and moving towards higher risk, higher reward picks such as Mitchell and Thompson.

DS: The Sox clearly went after athletes in this draft. Mitchell, Thompson, Colligan and Nick Ciolli all played center field with their teams this year. The Sox could use some infield depth in the minors now, but it’s good to see outfield athleticism as a priority. I like David Holmberg and Matt Heidenreich as projectable arms, but there weren’t any good polished starting pitchers signed by the Sox. Morgado would have been helped that, but I’m worried about his control. It’s way too early to say much of anything about this draft in terms of quality yet, but on paper it’s easier to like the hitters (even in the lower rounds) more than the pitching. Though it will be interesting to see how the top high school picks develop.

The above-slot signings from around the league have been flowing in at a rapid rate the last couple days and that will continue, but there has been little news on the White Sox front. Four notable picks remain unsigned and third rounder Bryan Morgado is the only one from college. Justin Jones (7th round), Dane Williams (15th) and Brian Goodwin (17th) are three talented high school prospects with strong college commitments.

Morgado has some unique circumstances surrounding him. He pitched for Tennessee last season, but wasn’t going to return to the Vols whether he signed or not. He improved his stock and leverage by pitching well at the Cape Cod League (32.1 IP, 3.06 ERA, 47 K, 15 BB). Obviously the control will have to improve, but this helps put to rest some of the concerns about his struggles in the spring. Adding another twist is that Tennessee now is trying to get the lefty to come back to school for what would be his junior season. The Sox will have to go over slot for Morgado and have supposedly offered such, but it looks like a coin flip right now.

Jones, another left-handed pitcher, appears set to honor his commitment to Cal. It’s not completely over, but the Sox seem very unlikely to sign the northern California product. Williams is likely to honor his North Carolina State commitment as well. The right-handed pitcher was always expected to do so unless the Sox wowed him with an offer and it appears they have not done so. Goodwin has long said he wanted to go to North Carolina and it is nothing new to say the centerfielder will not be turning pro.

As it stands, Morgado is the only of the four that the Sox have a good chance of signing. The White Sox lost two young lefties in the Jake Peavy trade so it would be nice to replenish the spot in the minor league system. We don’t know enough about the negotiations with Morgado to make a good judgment, but it sounds positive enough that the Sox could strike a deal. However, it would be a stunner to see any of the high schoolers sign, which is slightly disappointing because Jones had some positive write-ups on him following his senior year.

The minor surprise is that he signed for just under $30,000 over slot. The numbers floating around were a little bit higher. Thompson is the first high draft pick of the White Sox to sign for over slot this year.

It is expected that Thompson will report to Bristol to begin his professional career. Expectations should be reserved for his opening stint because he was regarded as a very raw player taken on the basis of his impressive upside and potential.

With Thompson’s signing, the highest remaining unsigned pick is 3rd rounder Bryan Morgado. Morgado has been doing well in the Cape Cod League this summer. In 27 innings, he has 39 strikeouts to 12 walks with a 1.67 ERA. This kind of production will likely require an above slot bonus for Morgado as well. The estimated slot for Morgado’s 102nd spot is just under $320,000. 7th rounder Justin Jones, a high school pitcher, also remains unsigned.

Thompson, a 6’4” 200 pound righty, is from Rancho Santa Margarita, California and had committed to UCLA. He is a high upside pick with a projectable frame. He is a great athlete that is considered a 5-tool type prospect. For more information on him, read what we said when he was first selected.

Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune is saying he will report to Bristol. It will be interesting to see the signing bonus Thompson will receive because he was thought to be getting an above slot offer. The slot bonus for the pick is just under $600,000. It was expected soon after draft day that Thompson would sign, but it was no surprise to see the negotiations take a while.

Thompson was left off of our midseason prospect rankings because he hadn’t signed yet, but would have slotted in at 13th if we included him in our final list. Thompson could quickly become one of the top prospects in the system.

UPDATE: The weekend has come and gone and there has been no extra word on Thompson, but it’s common for MLB to sit on above slot signing bonuses until closer to the deadline. It’s an odd practice, but it would explain why the contract has not become official yet.

Brady Shoemaker, a 6′ 0″, 200 pound outfielder, drafted out of Indiana State in the 19th round, leads the Appalachian League in batting average (.420) and OBP (.458) and is amongst the league leaders in a multitude of other categories such as SLG (.636, 5th) and doubles (10, T-2nd). What’s perhaps even more impressive though is that he’s hit in every game he’s played thus far, that’s all 22 of them and he already has 9 multi-hit games one of which was a 5-5 two home run massacre of Kingsport Mets pitching.

It’s not just on the field where Shoemaker has been opening eyes though, his dedication and professionalism off the field received special note from Bristol manager Ryan Newman, who said the following about him in the Bristol Herald Courier:
“He’s real quiet in the locker room. He takes care of his business and goes about his work as a professional. It’s great to have a guy like that in the clubhouse and in the middle of your lineup.”

Joe Serafin, a diminutive lefty drafted out of Vermont in the 37th round, leads the Appalachian League in both ERA (0.31), the next closest qualified pitcher to him is Trevor Shull who has a 1.50 ERA, and WHIP (0.69) and he is also tied for first in wins (4). Serafin mainly throws a fastball-curve ball combo, with his fastball clocking in around the high 80’s which he has combined with impeccable control (0.93 BB/9) to limit opposing batters to a meagre .177 average against.

In somewhat similar fashion to one rather more famous White Sox lefty, Mark Buehrle, Joe Serafin likes to work quickly, very quickly. A prime example of this speed on the mound was his July 8th start against the Burlington Royals, a game in which he picked up the victory after throwing 6 shutout innings, the game lasted just 1 hour and 55 minutes. Joe says that working quickly helps him to keep his focus on the game and not on any outside factors and it certainly seems to be working for him so far.

Serafin and Shoemaker may not grade out highly as prospects for the future, and both are likely to fizzle out as they make their way through the system due to a lack of stuff and tools, but until that happens, long may their success continue.

The reason for this was summed up perfectly by Jim Callis of Baseball America (see below) and each of the players listed above fit into the category describe by Callis (as they are all believed to be asking for “above slot”).

It has been 12 days since a first-round draft pick signed, and 20 of the 32 have yet to agree to terms. Don’t expect those numbers to change much in the next two to three weeks. Most if not all of the first-rounders who were going to sign for MLB’s slot recommendations have done so, and MLB is going to drag its heels on approving deals that far exceed its guidelines.

This means that the Sox might have actually reached deals with the prospects in question but those deals have not been announced as the league tends to sit on above-slot offers. Or the Sox might just be waiting patiently to see if the asking price drops before making their significant offer.

What we can tell you from what we’ve heard:
- The Sox appear confident that they’ll be able to sign Trayce Thompson and Justin Jones.

- Bryan Morgado appears to be a wild-card. Initially the Sox had felt he’d be an easy sign as he was a college player without a college (Tennessee wasn’t going to keep him) but as a draft eligible sophomore who has opened up some scouts’ eyes at the Cape, his contract demands and leverage have been higher than expected.

- Brian Goodwin and Dane Williams will go down to the wire. The odds aren’t good, but the Sox are going to give it a fighting shot.

The first round pick was Brian Anderson, selected 15th overall out of Arizona. Anderson was a top prospect and made it through the minors at a good pace, but hasn’t been able to produce in the Majors. He is a good defensive centerfielder, but hasn’t taken the job full time since being handed it in 2006 after Aaron Rowand was traded away. He showed flashes of improvement this season, but his career OPS in over 800 Major League plate appearances is in the mid .600s. Needless to say that isn’t going to cut it. It’s hard to defend Anderson, but he will get a couple more chances because he can play good defense at all three outfield spots. It’s not unthinkable that he could turn it around, but it’s doubtful it will be the White Sox to give him that opportunity.

With the 52nd overall pick, the Sox took another outfielder. This time it was Ryan Sweeney, a high schooler from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Scouts raved about Sweeney when he was in the minors, but like Anderson, has struggled since making it to the Majors. The Sox were very aggressive, maybe even too aggressive, by assigning him to high-A Winston-Salem with Anderson to start 2004. He struggled mightily in the first half, but rebounded for respectable numbers. The following year in Birmingham he put up similar numbers, but only hit 1 home run. At this point, people were wondering if his supposed raw power would ever develop. In AAA Charlotte as a 21 year-old, he hit 13 HR, but still only posted an .802 OPS. The next year he remained in Charlotte and an injury caused him to miss some time and resulted in a dip in his production, though he finally showed a good walk rate. Two September call-ups in 2006 and 2007 weren’t promising and Kenny Williams sold Sweeney’s stock to the A’s as part of the Nick Swisher deal. With the A’s he had a more encouraging 2008 campaign. He hit .286 and had a .350 on-base percentage, but hit just 5 HR. This year his numbers have taken a dip and Sweeney has just 8 HR in about 800 plate appearances in the Majors. There is more hope for Sweeney than Anderson. Ryan’s Major League numbers have been better, though that’s not saying much, and he is still only 24. Still, it’s hard to imagine Sweeney ever developing much power at this point, but he can hit for a decent average and plays good defense in the outfield. If Sweeney can recreate the production from his rookie year, he will have a long career in the Majors, but likely won’t ever be an All-Star.

The rest of the top ten rounds barely even produced a busted prospect. 4th rounder Robert Valido was thought of pretty highly, but received a 15 game suspension for testing positive for PEDs in 2005. Valido was a well respected defensive shortstop, but struggled to hit above A ball and was taken in the AAA phase of the 2008 Rule V Draft. Currently on the Orioles’ AA affiliate, the Bowie BaySox, he has an OPS below .600. Ouch.

9th rounder David Cook has had some success in the minors, but turned 28 today and hasn’t had a chance in the Majors yet. It doesn’t appear he will either. He mashed in Winston-Salem and Birmingham, but as one of the older players on each team. Currently with the Knights, he will need to hit there soon or his window for getting a shot in the Majors will shut.

The rest of the draft is filled with a bunch of guys who barely sniffed AA. 27th rounder Dwayne Pollok is currently bouncing from AAA team to AAA team and doesn’t look like he will ever get a look in the bigs. 14th rounder Ricardo Nanita manned the same outfield in Winston-Salem as Anderson and Sweeney in 2004, but didn’t develop like the other two and is floundering in AA. 6th rounder Chris Kelly had a dismal season in Birmingham in 2007 and is now playing independent ball.

Of the higher picks to flop, 3rd rounder Clint King posted huge numbers in Conference USA for Southern Miss, but couldn’t hit for two years in Kannapolis and retired in 2005. 5th rounder Matt Nachreiner and 7th rounder James Casey didn’t even make it out of rookie ball. 8th rounder John Russ didn’t do anything, at all. 10th rounder Fraser Dizard flamed out after a short stint in AA.

That may be the most depressing paragraph in FutureSox history. It just shows how bad the 2003 draft was.

A few redrafts had some success in other organizations. 11th rounder Ricky Brooks was actually redrafted by the Sox in the 3rd round in 2005 and is currently in the Barons’ bullpen. He is mostly a non-prospect at this point though. Donald Veal was taken in the 2nd round in 2005 by the Cubs and dominated A ball. He was mediocre in AA for two years and was taken in the Rule V Draft by the Pirates, giving him a shot in the Majors this year. The results were mixed at best (3.52 ERA and 7 K in 7.2 IP, but 10 BB) and he is currently rehabbing in the minors. 13th rounder Wes Hodges was a 2nd rounder in 2006 for the Indians. He is currently in AAA with a mediocre prospect status.

Overall, it’s a lot of crap. At least Anderson and Sweeney made it, but neither look like future standouts and the rest of the top 10 picks haven’t been worth much of anything at any points in their careers. The redrafts have been better, but only Brooks was taken by the Sox and it’s hard to count guys not signed as credits to the draft. People love seeing draft grades and it’s tough to evaluate them because the book isn’t closed on all of the players, but it wouldn’t be a grade you want to show Mom and Dad.

1A (38) – Josh Phegley, C, Indiana – SIGNED (Kannapolis)
-.219, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K (8 games)

2 (71) – David Holmberg, LHP, Port Charlotte HS, FL – SIGNED (Bristol)
- 0-0, 3.86 ERA, 4 G, 4.2 IP, 6 H, 5 BB, 5 K, .300 BAA

4 (133) – Matthew Heidenreich, RHP, Temescal Canyon HS, CA – SIGNED (Bristol)
- 0-0, 2.25 ERA, 2 G, 4 IP, 3 H, 5 BB, 1 K, .231 BAA

5 (163) – Kyle Bellamy, RHP, U Miami – SIGNED (Bristol)
- 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3 G, 3 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, .000 BAA

6 (193) – Justin Collop, RHP, Toledo – SIGNED (Great Falls)
- 0-2, 1.29 ERA, 3 GS, 7 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 1 ER, 6 BB, 4 K, .214 BAA

8 (253) – Ryan Buch, RHP, Monmouth – SIGNED (Great Falls)
- 1-0, 18.00 ERA, 2 G, 1 IP, 0 H, 3 BB, 1 K, .000 BAA

9 (283) – Matthew Hopps, RHP, Cal St Dominguez Hills – SIGNED (Great Falls)
- 0-1, 10.80 ERA, 2 G, 1.2 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 K, .500 BAA

10 (313) – Nick Ciolli, OF, Indiana St. – SIGNED (Great Falls)
- .333, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 5 BB, 13 K (14 games)

11 (343) – Jimmy Ballinger, RHP, Southern Miss – SIGNED (Bristol/Kannpolis)
- 0-2, 10.61 ERA, 3 G, 2 GS, 9.1 IP, 16 H, 8 BB, 9 K, .381 BAA

12 (373) – Kyle Colligan, CF, Texas A&M – SIGNED (Great Falls)
-.304, 3 HR, 16 RBI, 6 BB, 7 K (16 games)

13 (403) – Cameron Bayne, RHP, Concordia U – SIGNED (Great Falls)
- 0-2, 15.75 ERA, 4 G, 4.0 IP, 7 H, 5 BB, 4 K, .389 BAA

14 (433) – Daniel Black, 1B, Purdue – SIGNED (Bristol/Kannapolis)
-.292, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 4 BB, 12 K (13 games)

16 (493) – Daniel Wagner, 2B, Belmont – SIGNED (Bristol)
-.303, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 5 BB, 12 K, 6/7 SB (17 games)

18 (553) – Philip Negus, RHP, Wake Forest – SIGNED (Bristol)
- 0-0, 1.74 ERA, 3 G, 2 GS, 10.1 IP, 9 H, 2 BB, 13 K, .225 BAA

19 (583) – Brady Shoemaker, LF, Indiana St. – SIGNED (Bristol)
-.378, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 4 BB, 12 K (12 games)

21 (643) – Jared McDonald, SS, Arizona St. – SIGNED (Bristol)
-.063, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 2 K (5 games)

22 (673) – Zach Kayne, SS, Davidson – SIGNED (Great Falls)
-.231, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 4 BB, 14 K (12 games)

23 (703) – Goldy Simmons, RHP, San Diego State – SIGNED (Bristol)
- 0-1, 13.50 ERA, 1 GS, 2.0 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 1 K, .556 BAA

24 (733) – Jeffrey Tezak, 2B, Nebraska – SIGNED (Great Falls)
-.356, 0 HR, 8 RBI, 7 BB, 9 K (15 games)

26 (793) – Matthew Harughty, 2B, Oklahoma – SIGNED (Great Falls)
-.276, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 6 K (10 games)

27 (823) – Kyle Davis, 2B, Delaware – SIGNED (Bristol)
-.321, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 10 BB, 16 K (17 games)

28 (853) – Robert Cummings, 3B, UC Santa Barbara – SIGNED (Great Falls)
-.271, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 3 BB, 18 K (12 games)

29 (883) – Charles Delk, RHP, Clemson – SIGNED (Bristol)
- 1-2, 3.46 ERA, 3 GS, 13.0 IP, 20 H, 2 BB, 12 K, .364 BAA

30 (913) – Robert Vaughn, C, Kansas St. – SIGNED (Bristol)
-.118, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 5 K (6 games)

31 (943) – Michael Hamme, CF, Campbell U. – SIGNED (Great Falls)
-.298, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K (15 games)

32 (973) – Jacob Wilson, RHP, New Mexico St. – SIGNED (Great Falls)
-No Appearances

33 (1003) – Chase Cooney, RHP, Volunteer State CC – SIGNED (Bristol)
- 0-0, 7.36 ERA, 3 G, 5 H, 1 BB, 1 K, .357 BAA

34 (1033) – Alex Farotto, LHP, South Carolina – SIGNED (Bristol)
- 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3 G, 1 Sv, 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 7 K, .154 BAA

35 (1063) – Danny Wiltz, RHP, Tennessee – SIGNED (Bristol)
- 1-1, 2.61 ERA, 6 G, 1 Sv, 10.1 IP, 8 H, 2 BB, 15 K, .200 BAA

37 (1123) – Joseph Serafin, LHP, Vermont – SIGNED (Bristol)
- 3-0, 0.00 ERA, 4 G, 2 GS, 17.0 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 11 K, .109 BAA

38 (1153) – Anthony Casario, OF, Maryland – SIGNED (Bristol)
-.208, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 13 K (9 games)

39 (1183) – Paul Burnside, RHP, Auburn – SIGNED (Great Falls)
- 0-0, 40.50 ERA, 2 G, 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 K, .250 BAA

40 (1213) – Leighton Pangilinan, 1B, Escalon HS, CA – SIGNED (Bristol)
-.167, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 6 K (3 games)

41 (1243) – Ryan Lee, CF, Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo – SIGNED (Bristol)
-.323, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 9 BB, 9 K, 6/9 SB (17 games)

42 (1273) – Christopher Zagyi, RHP, Middlesex County College – SIGNED (Bristol)
- 0-1, 7.94 ERA, 4 G, 5.2 IP, 8 H, 2 BB, 6 K, .348 BAA

45 (1363) – Harold Baines Jr., LF, McDaniel College – SIGNED (Bristol)
-.120, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K (8 games)

Mitchell, a speedy outfielder and former WR at LSU, will report to Kannapolis and is expected to make his professional debut in Thursday’s game against Lakewood.

Mitchell enjoyed a successful career at LSU, with his crowning moment coming when he was named the Most Outstanding Player of this year’s College World Series. He’s still quite raw as a baseball player, but if all goes well we could see him on the South Side in two years.

Terms of the deal have not yet been released, but the slot bonus for the 23rd pick is estimated at $1.26m. Update: Baseball America reporting the signing bonus is $1.2m.