Actually seen Slightom as my best pal is a varsity coach in conference.

My concern there is he really doesn't have any secondary stuff right now. The change is getting some love but I'm not sold. Seems like a pretty big project but obviously great upside and a very good athlete. I would prefer contreras personally.

45 minutes ago, DirtySox said:

From Kiley's Mock on that Pirates pick. #34.

If Getz wants to get crazy and take a big risk, trade Hudson for the #34 pick and replace him with Hagen in the bullpen this year.

He concentrated a lot on football in high school, according to several of my buddies with connections to LT. That could be part of his issue with secondaries.

1 hour ago, DirtySox said:

Roch 9.5

Thome 2.5

Slightom 2.5

Contreras 3.0

If the Sox could shave off 500K from both Contreras and Thome and turn this into a 5 player class with another prep bat/arm I would actually be over the moon.

46 minutes ago, Squirmin' for Yermin said:

I'd love it if we got those 4.

Go college pitching heavy the rest of the draft and that could be a really good draft.

1 hour ago, DirtySox said:

Interesting that we've now heard Santarelli from both Kiley and Joe Doyle. The power is so tantalizing, but corner prep profile when all is said and done.

Slightom would be a huge get, but I have this feeling he doesn't make it to 41. Would feel a lot better if the Sox had that Pirates pick. I like Thome, but I think it depends on cost for me. I don't think he has this immense upside. I see him more as a 3rd round pick, but probably doesn't make it there. Contreras would be a fun one to get, but there are a few other prep arms I think I would take in his stead. Especially if the Vanderbilt tax puts him in the 3+ million range.

I would be pretty stoked with the those picks overall, but that's pretty much the entirety of your draft class I would wager. You actually might come up slightly short unless some of these "nepo" picks "cut" a deal. From the Over-Slot simulator which isn't perfect, but is probably the best we will do for bonus demands outside of @Y2Jimmy0 having intel on asks:

Roch 9.5

Thome 2.5

Slightom 2.5

Contreras 3.0

I would be okay with this being the entirety of the draft class. I know that some others would take umbrage at it being a 4 player class, but sign me up.

Dollars wise it feels like it could be doable if we can get Contreras a bit cheaper than the $3M you referenced. Honestly, I really want us to take two high ceiling prep arms tomorrow. For me, the draft is all about upside and there is a nice group of HS arms that fit to the billing in this class. As much as college arm could help the major league team faster, I don’t want to settle for safety or proximity with our day 1 picks.

Sharing the Slightom bit from BA today.

Helium High School Pitchers

Illinois prep righthander Jack Slightom was one of our biggest up-arrow prospects in this year’s draft cycle, but he could still wind up going much higher than our No. 101 ranking suggests.

Slightom might be one of the most buzzy players in the class right now, with a chance to go inside the first 40 picks or even inside the first round proper. I projected him to the Rockies with the 37th overall pick in our most recent mock draft, though that was mostly to capture his up-the-board movement rather than being based on any specific link to Colorado.

Slightom checks a ton of boxes as a still-projectable 6-foot-4, 200-pound righthander with great athleticism, a fastball that has been trending up for a year now and excellent under-the-hood pitching data. That pitching data component seems to be a key piece of why he’s flying up the boards, as teams have gotten a chance to dig into his spring numbers with a bit more detail.

That, plus some strong in-person interviews at the combine, has a number of teams considering him more than 60 spots higher on the board than his current draft ranking.

Another prep righthander who has a chance to go early is Colorado righty Ethan Wachsmann.

He’s the top-ranked player from the state in this year’s class, with a bit more effort to his operation than Slightom, but he has a huge fastball that has already been up to 100 mph. Teams also think there are some easy player development gains that could be made at the next level as he learns to fully incorporate his lower half in his delivery and generally become a more efficient mover.

Other points in both Slightom and Wachsmann’s favor are that they are young for the class. Slightom will be 18.2 at the draft and Wachsmann will be 18.1.

36 minutes ago, Rusty_Kuntz said:

He concentrated a lot on football in high school, according to several of my buddies with connections to LT. That could be part of his issue with secondaries.

Yeah, I also just don't love High Schoolers at 98 and 99 MPH. Especially given his very limited track record dedicated to pitching.

My ideal pitching prospect sits about 92-94 in high school and grows into velocity as a pro. This, from what I've looked into in my life, gives you a better chance of avoiding injury and sustaining velo throughout your pro career. There are tons of stories of high schoolers drafted throwing 98+ in high school who peak at that velocity and trend downward as pros.

Projectable pitchers, at that age, have a better track record of success imo.

Edited 6 hours ago6 hr by Look at Ray Ray Run

25 minutes ago, DirtySox said:

If the Sox could shave off 500K from both Contreras and Thome and turn this into a 5 player class with another prep bat/arm I would actually be over the moon.

Yeah, that would be fantastic. I wonder how much value those guys would put on being part of a Sox org that (unfairly or not) will provide some level of preferential treatment given their fathers being members of the front office.

49 minutes ago, Rusty_Kuntz said:

He concentrated a lot on football in high school, according to several of my buddies with connections to LT. That could be part of his issue with secondaries.

I'll add he didn't look great in the outing I saw versus a pretty bad team. My buddy is not a fan of his as a prospect and doesn't think he could be a freshman starter for a big school like FSU, for whatever that is worth.

26 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

Yeah, I also just don't love High Schoolers at 98 and 99 MPH. Especially given his very limited track record dedicated to pitching.

My ideal pitching prospect sits about 92-94 in high school and grows into velocity as a pro. This, from what I've looked into in my life, gives you a better chance of avoiding injury and sustaining velo throughout your pro career. There are tons of stories of high schoolers drafted throwing 98+ in high school who peak at that velocity and trend downward as pros.

Projectable pitchers, at that age, have a better track record of success imo.

Totally fair. I think his athletic and character are what's giving him this juice right now.

Edited 5 hours ago5 hr by Rusty_Kuntz

13 minutes ago, Rusty_Kuntz said:

Totally fair. I think his athletic and character are what's giving him this juice right now.

Yea. Sounds like the makeup is off the charts.

I'd still take that shot to bring in an athlete like that. But just be pretty clear eyed about it.

One thing I'm hoping for is thinking about the 2024 draft and how it became pretty lukewarm at the top - but was filled with some college infielders. That draft has now had an incredible start which is unlikely to be repeated. They were all a bit faster prospects too, but I do hope that this ends up similarly. Lotta "there are no witts" but there weren't in 2024 either (until griffin), and they still are impactful. So that's my hope anyway.

Taylor Blake Ward mock.

https://www.thesportingtribune.com/2026/07/10/mlb-mock-draft-2026

1. Chicago White Sox: Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA

This isn't as simple as a coin flip; this feels like a two-man race between Cholowsky and Grady Emerson that will land on bonus demands.

While the bonus won't land as an eight-digit figure, it will be a record-setter north of $9.3 million and will have to be more than whatever the teams promptly after (particularly, Tampa Bay and San Francisco) will make as a table-offer. You may have to assume this will be $9.5-$9.75 million signing bonus and either will receive a similar figure at picks 2, 3 or 4 (Vahn Lackey probably goes $9.3M+ too).

The demands aren't the only thing holding some confidence in one player or the other as there could be a split in the room, which would include Lackey, though you can sideline him for most of this. Half the room seems to prefer Emerson on a talent and upside scale, while others see Cholowsky as a safer bet to become a solid player of potential franchise-altering value if he hits his peaks, and also fits some competitive window items.

This pick could come down to how much independence Mike Shirley will be granted in the war room, and most expect he will have the ultimate say. I noted in the last mock how much both Shirley and GM Chris Getz were involved with the interest in Cholowsky as a prep and that ownership will at least express a fair opinion here.

Lackey had some traction here a month ago, even to a point where some said he might be the favorite internally, but immediate feedback came across loudly that Chicago will not be taking a catcher this high even if there is favorable opinion; which to that, I shrugged, but when something is said multiple times, you have to listen.

Even with that, I don't think you rule out Lackey, or Jacob Lombard, or even Jackson Flora for that matter, but you lean to the two-horse race.

Generalizing percentages at the top again, as per usual. It's tight to 50/50 here. Cholowsky or Emerson 96.0%, Lackey 3.0%, Field <1.0%.

38 minutes ago, bmags said:

One thing I'm hoping for is thinking about the 2024 draft and how it became pretty lukewarm at the top - but was filled with some college infielders. That draft has now had an incredible start which is unlikely to be repeated. They were all a bit faster prospects too, but I do hope that this ends up similarly. Lotta "there are no witts" but there weren't in 2024 either (until griffin), and they still are impactful. So that's my hope anyway.

One thing I think about with the 2024 draft is that somehow the Sox made the only s%*# pick in the top 9. I think he's got a shot of being the worst pick in the top 14.

Christian Moore is still a bit TBD, but he's at least looked great in the minors and already forced the issue.

2 hours ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Yeah, that would be fantastic. I wonder how much value those guys would put on being part of a Sox org that (unfairly or not) will provide some level of preferential treatment given their fathers being members of the front office.

Their dads mysteriously get $500k raises.

4 hours ago, Chicago White Sox said:

How would people feel if our first four picks went Roch, Slightom, Thome, & Contreras?

Overwhelming success

29 minutes ago, Quin said:

Their dads mysteriously get $500k raises.

"White Sox Ambassodors"

More from Kiley on draft pick trading.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48771509/2026-mlb-draft-buzz-scouting-reports-intel-analysis

What to know about trading of draft picks

One more thing worth noting before the draft gets started is the potential for trading compensation picks. I referenced in the final mock draft that the Pirates' Comp A pick (34th overall) has been discussed as available via trade for a solid big league reliever for almost a month. I've heard six to eight teams mentioned as taking earnest runs at this pick via trade; almost every time it comes up in conversation, a source mentions that a new team made an offer. I've also heard late buzz of a Comp B pick (Picks 67 to 74) being available but haven't confirmed that talks are occurring.

I've confirmed with the league that these trades would have to be completed by two hours before the Saturday 1 p.m. ET kickoff of the draft.

1 hour ago, DirtySox said:

More from Kiley on draft pick trading.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48771509/2026-mlb-draft-buzz-scouting-reports-intel-analysis

just unbelievable the amount of resources these small market teams get. Absolutely embarrassing that any small market team couldn't succeed in today's cba.

espn will not be covering the draft. Always enjoy listening to Kiley’s perspective.