Chick Mercedes

To talk about objections to Lackey for a second…Teel is anything but an established entity. You don’t base your #1-1 based on a whisper of a concept. Especially when you’re so loaded with young winning infielders already. Kyler Gordon is a cautionary tale.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that….

I can’t be onboard with this project. People use him to try and legitimize atrocious banana ball. He’s not worth it.

Gonzalez comes without the weird baggage. It’ll be tough to send him back down because he doesn’t make outrageous demands for the bathrooms and such

40%. Times, they are a changin’

Murakami, Shmurakami

No, choosing based on consensus is pathetic

I just will have a major Karen event if the White Sox value system timing with the bloody #1 overall pick over the best player available period. Criminal

NM

The suits will ignore those pesky, insolent scouts

“Benny” is an affectionate way of talking about this player that plagued the roster in recent years

That would be the most pathetic thing a man could do

I thought it was my WiFi. When I turn it off and use cellular, non problem.

Scouting ReportBats: R, Throws: R Arm70 Field60 Hit60 Power55 Run60 Lackey is the most well-rounded prospect in the 2026 class. A catcher by trade, he's got the flexibility, athleticism and arm strength to play the position as a professional. It's at least plus arm strength with the athleticism the generate pop times to second base under 1.75 seconds. Elite catch-and-throw. Lackey is slightly above average with regards to pitch framing; better stealing the north and south strikes than he is pulling the ball back into the zone when a pitcher misses arm-side or glove-side. Certainly a trait he can develop with further reps behind the dish. He's exceptional at blocking the ball in the dirt and is decorated throwing would-be base stealers out at second base as well as back-picking first base. Lackey gets up and out of the crouch with elite burst and flashes pop times that point toward a plus defender long-term, maybe better. It's hard to poke many holes in Lackey's offensive game. He's well-above average from a bat-to-ball perspective and his peak batted-ball events have resulted in exit velocities north of 112 mph. There are components and traits here that suggest a plus hitter at the next level with the ability to perhaps run into 25 homers per year thanks to his above-average raw power. He'll need to pull the ball with more frequency and cover the bottom of the strike zone with a bit better plane. Lackey needs to get the ball in the air more often on pitches in the lower-half if he's to realize his impact potential with the stick, but he's shown the raw strength and feel to get there. Better still, Lackey has the athletic frame scouts like to see from a catcher who still has some strength gains on the horizon. As if the defensive ability and hit tool upside weren't enough, Lackey is also a rare-breed catcher who has plus speed on the bases. He'll steal bases in buckets when the legs are fresh. Lackey is a special player. He's an outlier with respect to the sport. Not only are the tools rare, his personality and leadership qualities are infectious. His performance track record has only gotten better year over year, showcasing the type of trajectory teams like to see with their first pick. Lackey has all the same traits that a player like JT Realmuto. It feels a bit lazy from a comparison perspective, but it's difficult to find this blend of speed and power from a player behind the plate. Lackey also played every single position on the field this spring with the exception of pitcher. He's a unicorn. This is a top five pick and one of the better college catchers the sport has ever seen

Do they not love Colson?

That’s a long time. 😉 The Vahn Lackey tracking thread. The Emerson tracking thread…..or gasp, the Roch Cholowski tracking thread. Oh no

The discourse is only beginning

Its funny because if he does hit, they’ll find a way to keep him on the roster for outfield reps, and block Montgomery 😉

In artfully written. Just saying its an odd situation if your hotshot MiLB middle infielder is up to get ABs at first

Interesting to learn who the key Sox/proEmerson evaluators are

Ignominious

-The margin for error for Cholowsky is dropping to where this might just be a 50/50 coin flip. There's a lot of industry buzz that Grady Emerson is preferred by some key White Sox evaluators https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48899402/2026-mlb-mock-draft-20-kiley-mcdaniel-predicts-picks-white-sox-rays-twins-giants-pirates