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White Sox win draft lottery, will pick #1 in 2026


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Couple of things.  In the end the lottery rules seemed to have favored the White Sox.  They got #1 because they were #10 last year and Colorado was bumped.  The year they would have had #1 (2025)  was an average class and they look to have ended up with a decent enough guy that it did not matter that they moved to 10.

C. Montgomery will be at 1B when Roch comes up.   

As for development Roch sliding in for 2027 (maybe) while Carlson's timeline is 2029 which by then the Meidroth's, Antonacci's and Bonemer will have been figured out.

There is a path to not being embarrassing which is something.

The brightest thing to me is the timing, if these guys pop will be  about the time JR kind of leaves the building and maybe they don't need to be flipped.

 

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14 minutes ago, Harry Chappas said:

Couple of things.  In the end the lottery rules seemed to have favored the White Sox.  They got #1 because they were #10 last year and Colorado was bumped.  The year they would have had #1 (2025)  was an average class and they look to have ended up with a decent enough guy that it did not matter that they moved to 10.

C. Montgomery will be at 1B when Roch comes up.   

As for development Roch sliding in for 2027 (maybe) while Carlson's timeline is 2029 which by then the Meidroth's, Antonacci's and Bonemer will have been figured out.

There is a path to not being embarrassing which is something.

The brightest thing to me is the timing, if these guys pop will be  about the time JR kind of leaves the building and maybe they don't need to be flipped.

 

Good thoughts!

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17 minutes ago, Harry Chappas said:

Couple of things.  In the end the lottery rules seemed to have favored the White Sox.  They got #1 because they were #10 last year and Colorado was bumped.  The year they would have had #1 (2025)  was an average class and they look to have ended up with a decent enough guy that it did not matter that they moved to 10.

C. Montgomery will be at 1B when Roch comes up.   

As for development Roch sliding in for 2027 (maybe) while Carlson's timeline is 2029 which by then the Meidroth's, Antonacci's and Bonemer will have been figured out.

There is a path to not being embarrassing which is something.

The brightest thing to me is the timing, if these guys pop will be  about the time JR kind of leaves the building and maybe they don't need to be flipped.

 

I do not think Colson is going to be wasted at 1B when at bare minimum he can play a capable SS and likely a plus 3B.  Him and Roch will almost certainly be the left side of our infield come 2027.  If Carlson’s bat develops then maybe he pushes one of those two elsewhere, but that probably doesn’t happen until 2029 at the earliest.  Bonemer is the tougher one to figure out.  He’s only played the left side of the infield so far in his minor league career, but I don’t see why he couldn’t handle 2B theoretically.  The other option for Caleb would likely be LF, especially since we don’t have any significant OF prospects outside of Braden.  Regardless, this group of positional prospects is very exciting now if you assume Roch is the dude at 1.1 next year.

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29 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

I do not think Colson is going to be wasted at 1B when at bare minimum he can play a capable SS and likely a plus 3B.  Him and Roch will almost certainly be the left side of our infield come 2027.  If Carlson’s bat develops then maybe he pushes one of those two elsewhere, but that probably doesn’t happen until 2029 at the earliest.  Bonemer is the tougher one to figure out.  He’s only played the left side of the infield so far in his minor league career, but I don’t see why he couldn’t handle 2B theoretically.  The other option for Caleb would likely be LF, especially since we don’t have any significant OF prospects outside of Braden.  Regardless, this group of positional prospects is very exciting now if you assume Roch is the dude at 1.1 next year.

I think Vargas hangs around and is a GG 3B (not sure why I think that but I do) and Colson's health is the reason I push him to 1B 

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1 hour ago, Harry Chappas said:

Couple of things.  In the end the lottery rules seemed to have favored the White Sox.  They got #1 because they were #10 last year and Colorado was bumped.  The year they would have had #1 (2025)  was an average class and they look to have ended up with a decent enough guy that it did not matter that they moved to 10.

C. Montgomery will be at 1B when Roch comes up.   

As for development Roch sliding in for 2027 (maybe) while Carlson's timeline is 2029 which by then the Meidroth's, Antonacci's and Bonemer will have been figured out.

There is a path to not being embarrassing which is something.

The brightest thing to me is the timing, if these guys pop will be  about the time JR kind of leaves the building and maybe they don't need to be flipped.

 

Harry, if there were no lottery, Sox would have picked #1 in 2025 and #2 in 2026,

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11 hours ago, Lip Man 1 said:

I don't know about his quickness or ability to get to balls if he was in center, maybe a corner spot with his power. 

They were playing him at 3B last season some....I suspect that's where he would end up.

Also, positional flexibility will part of this.

So much will change probably between now and 2027 or 2028.

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1 hour ago, Quin said:

Learning that three things need to take place

1) Is Carlson as good defensively as billed?

2) Is Roch as good as hyped and the true 1.1?

3) If things play out right, who of Colson, Roch, Bonemer and Carlson profiles as the best outfielder?

These things at a minimum have 8 months to be sorted out (the #1 pick).   We got a full season of HS and college baseball to play to even KNOW who the #1 pick is going to be.  Roch is probably on the Gordon Beckham track of a quick bounce through the minors, so as a 2026 pick, an early to mid 2027 arrival isn't crazy.  If the pick becomes the HS kid, now we are probably looking at 2 to 3 years of building and waiting being something looking more like 2029 or so without a crazy flight through the minors.

As to who plays what positions, FIRST off these guys all have to succeed at a level where you think of replacing one dude with another defensive, but also they have offensively succeed enough to make the majors.

Monty had a horrendous slump last year, where he was so bad he had to be taken out of AAA and sent to Arizona to be rebuilt.  We never really got a good explanation as to whether that was mental, or related to his back problems, to even start to get an idea of what the odds are it could surface again.  Defensively he has looked better than advertised, but a dude who is a star defender could definitely move him.

Carlson has yet to have a MiLB AB and as a raw hitter HS pick, is probably looking at a timeline of late 2028 to 29 if things go well.  Maybe earlier if things go great, slower if he struggles to hit as a professional.

Bonny has done nothing but hit so far, and could be on a late 2026 track if he continues to hit like this, but something in the mid 2027 isn't outrageous either if he progress slows a bit as expected as he hits the higher levels of the minors.  His defense is definitely questioned.

 

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16 minutes ago, oldsox said:

Harry, if there were no lottery, Sox would have picked #1 in 2025 and #2 in 2026,

Yes 1&2 is better than 10&1 but I think getting the 1 in 26 looks much more beneficial than the 1 in 25 and 2 in 26.  Similar to the Bears getting getting the #1 with a better QB class than the prior year.

I am not certain how it will play out but the lottery didn't hurt them as much as I thought.

I was unaware about the pool money benefit being a huge difference so that could debunk my our thought process further if I dug deeper. 

 

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9 minutes ago, Harry Chappas said:

Yes 1&2 is better than 10&1 but I think getting the 1 in 26 looks much more beneficial than the 1 in 25 and 2 in 26.  Similar to the Bears getting getting the #1 with a better QB class than the prior year.

I am not certain how it will play out but the lottery didn't hurt them as much as I thought.

I was unaware about the pool money benefit being a huge difference so that could debunk my our thought process further if I dug deeper. 

 

Emerson could very easily turn into the better pro…or Justin LeBron.

A college pitcher could easily rise to the forefront.  Right now the highest is somewhere in the 8-12 range.

 

The current best prospect in the game, Konnor Griffin, didn’t go Top 3, either.

Edited by caulfield12
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1 hour ago, southsider2k5 said:

We never really got a good explanation as to whether that was mental, or related to his back problems, to even start to get an idea of what the odds are it could surface again.

It's been explained pretty thoroughly that Colson went to Arizona as a mental reboot, and to work 1 on 1 with Fuller on his swing. Here's a SouthSideShowdown post that references multiple Merkin reports at the time, none of which mention any lingering back problems. 

The Chicago White Sox are pulling struggling top 5 prospect Colson Montgomery from game action

 

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1 hour ago, caulfield12 said:

Emerson could very easily turn into the better pro…or Justin LeBron.

A college pitcher could easily rise to the forefront.  Right now the highest is somewhere in the 8-12 range.

 

The current best prospect in the game, Konnor Griffin, didn’t go Top 3, either.

For once, the Sox may have an almost no brainer choice on ending up with a perennial All-Star position player.  I really hope they don’t get cute and take a pitcher.

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35 minutes ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

For once, the Sox may have an almost no brainer choice on ending up with a perennial All-Star position player.  I really hope they don’t get cute and take a pitcher.

If they take a pitcher I will lose my god damn mind. 

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Everybody planning out the middle infield is forgetting one player - The Chairman of the Board (Sam Antonacci). He's an on base MACHINE. He tore up the AFL and continued with his impressive on base skills. You compare the numbers in the minors, and his statline looks awfully similar to Wade Boggs. Mark by words, Sam will be a stud. At very least he will be a strong super sub for the infield. 

Edited by ron883
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17 minutes ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

For once, the Sox may have an almost no brainer choice on ending up with a perennial All-Star position player.  I really hope they don’t get cute and take a pitcher.

Obviously it was over a decade ago and it took a while for Rodon to put it together, but I remember Rodon being the #1 and then the Astros and Marlins decided to drastically overthink it with Aiken and Kolek.

In recent memory, was looking up early-rankings from Pipeline. Putting the #1s actual draft spot then the actual #1's pre-season ranking

2019: Bobby Witt #2, Adley Rutschman #2

2020: Emerson Hancock #6, Spencer Torkelson #2

2021: #10 Kumar Rocker, Henry Davis (outside of Top 20)

2022: #5 Elijah Green, Jackson Holliday (outside of Top 20)

2023: #2 Dylan Crews, #4 Paul Skenes

2024: #2 Chase Burns, Travis Bazzana (outside of Top 20)

2025: #4 Ethan Holliday, #9 Eli Willits

But I feel like Roch has been hyped more than others except maybe Crews, back to the days of Stras and Harper (though NO ONE has had that hype)

 

 

 

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20 minutes ago, ron883 said:

Everybody planning out the middle infield is forgetting one player - The Chairman of the Board (Sam Antonacci). He's an on base MACHINE. He tore up the AFL and continued with his impressive on base skills. You compare the numbers in the minors, and his statline looks awfully similar to Wade Boggs. Mark by words, Sam will be a stud. At very least he will be a strong super sub for the infield. 

super sub will either be him or meidroth. GREAT problem to have. The days of thinking Sosa or all the other AAAA fodder will be over very soon. This also makes the Teel/Quero moves look so much better. It's really just CF or RF that doesn't have an absolute undeniable option. I am assuming Braden ends up RF...but getting a FA RF is much easier than CF...so not sure they will be willing to do that. 

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1 minute ago, EloyJenkins said:

super sub will either be him or meidroth. GREAT problem to have. The days of thinking Sosa or all the other AAAA fodder will be over very soon. This also makes the Teel/Quero moves look so much better. It's really just CF or RF that doesn't have an absolute undeniable option. I am assuming Braden ends up RF...but getting a FA RF is much easier than CF...so not sure they will be willing to do that. 

Who are the undeniable options at 1B & DH?

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i don't think there is anyone they could trade who they would be willing to trade, except for maybe Quero, who could make anyone really think they improved the team much. They aren't going to spend much on a free agent, so little help there, winning the top pick is about as impactful of a move they could have made this offseason.

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11 hours ago, Harry Chappas said:

I think Vargas hangs around and is a GG 3B (not sure why I think that but I do) and Colson's health is the reason I push him to 1B 

These will be nice problems to have for a change.

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5 hours ago, almagest said:

I am absolutely going to be watching UCLA baseball games this year

For chicagoans who want to see him live, UCLA is at Iowa in March, at Michigan St. In May, and the Big 10 tournament end of May in Omaha.  

Edited by smellysox
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14 hours ago, Chicago White Sox said:

I do not think Colson is going to be wasted at 1B when at bare minimum he can play a capable SS and likely a plus 3B.  Him and Roch will almost certainly be the left side of our infield come 2027.  If Carlson’s bat develops then maybe he pushes one of those two elsewhere, but that probably doesn’t happen until 2029 at the earliest.  Bonemer is the tougher one to figure out.  He’s only played the left side of the infield so far in his minor league career, but I don’t see why he couldn’t handle 2B theoretically.  The other option for Caleb would likely be LF, especially since we don’t have any significant OF prospects outside of Braden.  Regardless, this group of positional prospects is very exciting now if you assume Roch is the dude at 1.1 next year.

I also said Colson at 1st base but that's a everything goes right scenario. 

1. Billy Carlson SS  He is the great fielder he's reported to be and his bat comes around. 

2.  Roch Cholowski 3B

3. 2nd base up for grabs between Meidroth, Bonemer and Antonacci

4. Colson Montgomery 1st base. Just what you want there a LHH with power. Tall ,so able to snag more high or wide throws. Doesn't throw LH but fits the bill on everything else.

5 DH :Survivor who becomes the best hitter between Vargas, Sosa, and whoever is not playing 2nd base. 

Utility guy : Whoever isn't playing 2nd base or DH and isnt traded . 

Others prospects may also step up.

Edited by CaliSoxFanViaSWside
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