2024 MLB Draft Report: New White Sox Watch Board Focuses on Position Players (2024)

With a fresh slate of mock drafts from industry experts comes new intel. We are still weeks away from the first picks on Sunday, July 14, so all rumors and whispers should be taken with a grain of salt. Teams with a Top-5 pick, which includes the White Sox, are narrowing down their field of contestants.

Trying to guess what the White Sox will do with the fifth overall pick requires figuring out what exactly Cleveland aims to accomplish with the first pick. The Guardians are in a great spot right now, being 21 games above .500 (47-26) and comfortably in first place, seven games ahead of Kansas City and Minnesota. Typically, the Guardians’ style of play favors contact and speed offensively while stockpiling right-handed pitchers who give opposing teams headaches. What’s interesting about this Guardians team in 2024 is they currently rank 12th in home runs with 82 and tied the mighty Atlanta Braves in that season total. Josh Naylor (19 home runs) and Jose Ramirez (18 home runs) are carrying a big part of that production. The wind currents created by the renovations to their home ballpark might also be carrying a share of the load.

So would it make sense for the Guardians to pick Georgia third baseman Charlie Condon first overall after he set records in 2024 and led the country with 37 home runs? Or Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana, who has been rumored to the Guardians for months because of their internal model of scouting draft prospects.

With all of the draft departments from all teams huddled together in Arizona this week for the combine, we have two new players rumored to the Guardians. They also happen to be tied to the White Sox, too.

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel shared intel from his latest mock draft about the Guardians’ pursuit of Florida’s Jac Caglianone.

There have been heavy rumors and some hard information that the Guardians have been all over Caglianone all spring. He has the elite tools you expect to see out of a top overall pick and there’s the allure that dropping pitching will accelerate his growth at the plate. Ultimately, a corner-only, not particularly polished hitter doesn’t fit Cleveland’s history at all. I buy that they are entranced by his rare ability and seriously considering him (actually, I know they are), but I don’t see them actually taking Caglianone No. 1 on draft day.

Kiley McDaniel, ESPN – 2024 MLB mock draft 2.0, June 19, 2024

But McDaniel has Cleveland taking West Virginia shortstop JJ Wetherholt first overall, who was the top-ranked preseason draft prospect before suffering a hamstring injury that had him miss more than a month of action. One could argue that Wetherholt is the best overall player in this draft class, but the advanced metrics are shaky in supporting that cause. Watching Wetherholt defensively during Regionals, however, could change some minds on him as a prospect who can actually play shortstop.

While Wetherholt doesn’t have the power potential of Condon, Bazzana, or Caglianone, he does have a very good track record in all levels (NCAA, Summer Ball, Team USA) of consistently making quality contact and showing good plate discipline.

As a rule of thumb, the MLB Draft is not always about taking the best player available. It’s more often about “Taking the best player available at the price we want to sign them.” That last part is what fuels speculation that Cleveland may take Wetherholt first overall.

From Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo:

If Wetherholt’s camp feels like there’s a real chance he slides into the 4-10 range of the draft it could make sense for him to take a deal with the Guardians and secure a bigger bonus. In 2021, the Pirates signed Henry Davis to around $1.9 million under slot as the first overall pick. Using that template here and rounding up to an even $2 million, what if Wetherholt got an $8.5 million deal? That’s greater than slot value for every pick beyond the first three. It would also still be good for the third-largest bonus in draft history.

For Cleveland it allows them to still have around $10.7 million in bonus pool money to spend for the rest of the draft—assuming Cleveland goes to the full 5% overage, which feels like a safe bet given their history of doing so. That $10.7 million figure is more than the total bonus pools for 16 teams this year. This could help the Guardians drive a mid-first-round talent to their next pick at No. 36.

Carlos Collazo, Baseball America – 2024 MLB Mock Draft 4.0, June 17, 2024

For what’s considered a weak draft class due to the poor prep talent pool and few premium college starting pitchers, the Guardians cutting an underslot deal with Wetherholt and attempting to push one of the best prep players to Pick 36 makes some sense. There’s just a lot of traffic to maneuver to make this plan a reality.

Let’s say the Guardians do take Wetherholt first overall, pushing Condon to Cincinnati with the second pick. Colorado is looking at Wake Forest starting pitcher Chase Burns with the third overall pick, and Oakland will take the best college bat available with their selection. For awhile now, there’s been rumors the Athletics think that’s Wake Forest first baseman Nick Kurtz. But if Caglianone or Bazzana fall to them, their minds could change.

If the Athletics see Caglianone as the second coming of Matt Olson, then suddenly, what seemed impossible has happened for the White Sox: a left-handed hitting second baseman with premium bat speed and plate discipline falls to them in Bazzana. No, Bazzana is nothing like Nick Madrigal, so White Sox fans can quiet down their natural fears of Oregon State second basem*n. But this type of speculation could end up being a fever dream powered by Chicago’s recent heat wave.

What we at Sox Machine have learned is that the White Sox are leaning toward taking a position player with their first pick. The front office is aware of the fact that recent trades have netted mostly pitchers in return, and that might happen again with this upcoming trade deadline. MLB teams are becoming more reluctant to deal with their top position player prospects even if they have redundancy (see: Baltimore). Thus, Chris Getz’s best chance of adding impact bats to the system might be through this upcoming draft, especially if no other team is willing to meet the asking prices for Luis Robert Jr. and Garrett Crochet.

Let’s reshuffle the Sox Machine Watch Board with a look at four position players.

JJ Wetherholt, Shortstop, West Virginia

Strengths

• Plus contact hitting skills (60 grade)
• Difficult to strikeout
• Ability to stick at shortstop thanks to plus throwing arm (60 grade)

Concerns

• Multiple soft tissue injuries
• When slumping, lots of ground balls

Why would the White Sox draft Wetherholt?

Since Getz has taken over as GM, the White Sox organization has stressed adding position players possessing the above-average athleticism necessary to play multiple defensive positions, while displaying an ability to consistently put the ball in play. That’s essentially Wetherholt, who would be another middle infielder in the White Sox system to dream on after spending first round picks on Colson Montgomery and Jacob Gonzalez.

While Wetherholt would help give the White Sox more middle infield depth, I don’t think he’s going to be someone who draws a lot of walks or hits 20+ home runs. Probably more of a future .750 to .800 OPS hitter who plays above-average defense at either shortstop or second base.

Jac Caglianone, First Baseman / Right Field, Florida

Strengths

• POWER
• Unique skill set that pitching is a realistic fallback plan
• Hit .375/.514/.795 vs. SEC opponents

Concerns

• Plate discipline
• Limited athleticism may restrict him to first base-only
• Control and command issues when pitching

Why would the White Sox draft Caglianone?

As of this writing, the White Sox minor league affiliates rank in the bottom half of each league in home runs hit. Top prospect Colson Montgomery has just a .176 ISO at his first crack in AAA despite the very hitter-friendly environment in Charlotte. Edgar Quero has 11 home runs in 62 games with Birmingham but often gets a 50 grade for power, as he viewed as more having a strong body than a swing geared for power. Maybe 25-year old Tim Elko can be an above-average home run hitter for the White Sox?

There are just not a lot of power bats in the Sox system currently, and Getz needs to find a way to address the team’s home run differential problem soon. Caglianone would instantly be the White Sox best power prospect and a future replacement of Andrew Vaughn at first base. However, I assume the White Sox would put Caglianone on the Gavin Sheets plan (or the Wilfred Veras plan) by giving him a chance to play right field, and take advantage of his plus arm strength.

Travis Bazzana, Second Baseman, Oregon State

Strengths

• Plus overall hitter (Power, Contact, Plate Discipline)
• 2023 Cape Cod League MVP (Oh, how the Sox love the Cape)
• Average stolen base threat

Concerns

• Limited to second base
• Need more data facing LHP breaking pitches

Why would the White Sox draft Bazzana?

Travis Bazzana is the second-best college bat in this draft class, and his game reminds me of former Guardians infielder Jason Kipnis. By working with Driveline to increase his average bat speed to 73.5 MPH, Bazzana flexed more power in 2024, especially pull-side. Even though Bazzana is limited to second base or left field because of below-average arm strength, like Kipnis at his peak, he can be a player who posts .800+ OPS offensive seasons.

Konnor Griffin, Center Fielder, Jackson Prep (Mississippi)

Perfect Game Showcase Metrics

Strengths

• Incredible athleticism
• Impressive arm strength
• Has skill set to play either shortstop or center field. Fringe pitching prospect.

Concerns

• Hitting mechanics
• What kind of in-game power is there?

Why would the White Sox draft Griffin?

There is no draft prospect who better fits the aspirations of the Chicago White Sox position player than Konnor Griffin. Reclassified from the 2025 MLB Draft and his verbal commitment to LSU, Griffin has the most plus tools of all prospects in this draft class. Whether his future team wants to start him at shortstop or center field, Griffin has the physical abilities to stick up the middle.

The reason why Griffin is barely considered going first overall, and why some mocks have him outside the Top 10 picks, is his hitting mechanics, especially in his lower half. The Mississippi prep pitching quality is poor, and Griffin didn’t light the world on fire during the summer showcase games. Griffin’s future MLB team may need to start from scratch in developing a new swing that can better leverage his strength and speed. Regardless of his current hit tools, Griffin is the type of prospect Getz would be asking for in trade talks for either Robert or Crochet.Just drafting him would be easier.