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

[Y2Jimmy0]

1 hour ago, caulfield12 said:

Take the most athletic collegiate SS or CFer (preference) with at least an above average hit tool and plus defense.

My guess would be Roch and then preps in 2nd and 3rd. Thats always the most value. 

[Chicago White Sox]

10 minutes ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

My guess would be Roch and then preps in 2nd and 3rd. Thats always the most value. 

100% this is the way

[Springfield Soxfan]

2 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

Take the most athletic collegiate SS or CFer (preference) with at least an above average hit tool and plus defense.

Yes, dynamic fast defensive outfielder please.   

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

52 minutes ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

My guess would be Roch and then preps in 2nd and 3rd. Thats always the most value. 

I know we hear that this is a high talent level draft and there could be kids who come on strong during the season  but as of now is the talent level greater  among the college kids or HS kids ? 

Don't you think that with a decent core in the making now that its possible that 2 of the top 3 picks could be collegians with an eye on 2028 and 2029 to be back to being a lot more competitive if Cholowski and a high quality collegian in the 2nd round is available who has a high ask that might be available to the Sox ? 

[DirtySox]

1 hour ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

My guess would be Roch and then preps in 2nd and 3rd. Thats always the most value. 

I would love this. I will be even further elated if the White Sox get a competitive balance pick in a Pirates/Robert trade. 

Edited 19 hours ago by DirtySox

[Chicago White Sox]

45 minutes ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

I know we hear that this is a high talent level draft and there could be kids who come on strong during the season  but as of now is the talent level greater  among the college kids or HS kids ? 

Don't you think that with a decent core in the making now that its possible that 2 of the top 3 picks could be collegians with an eye on 2028 and 2029 to be back to being a lot more competitive if Cholowski and a high quality collegian in the 2nd round is available who has a high ask that might be available to the Sox ? 

The biggest issue with the previous rebuild was a lack of future wave of prospects to support the original core, partially driven by safe / need-based drafting.  We should be talking the best, high talent ceiling regardless of position in the draft moving forward and in rounds 2 & 3 of next year’s draft that will likely be prep players with the amount of pool dollars we should have.

[WhiteSox2023]

24 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

The biggest issue with the previous rebuild was a lack of future wave of prospects to support the original core, partially driven by safe / need-based drafting.  We should be talking the best, high talent ceiling regardless of position in the draft moving forward and in rounds 2 & 3 of next year’s draft that will likely be prep players with the amount of pool dollars we should have.

The other problem with the last rebuild is that they finally had a competitive team but went cheap in free agency and didn’t bolster the team with top tier free agents.  The same thing is going to happen again unless Ishbia takes over the team in 2029 and spends money.

[kitekrazy]

14 minutes ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

The other problem with the last rebuild is that they finally had a competitive team but went cheap in free agency and didn’t bolster the team with top tier free agents.  The same thing is going to happen again unless Ishbia takes over the team in 2029 and spends money.

They were also brittle players.  Health seems to be the new skill especially pitchers.  

[WestEddy]

48 minutes ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

The other problem with the last rebuild is that they finally had a competitive team but went cheap in free agency and didn’t bolster the team with top tier free agents.  The same thing is going to happen again unless Ishbia takes over the team in 2029 and spends money.

They wouldn't have had to have been players in the deep end if they had a flow of talent coming from the minors. That was chronic, and how they'd end up starting the JB Shucks of the world. But yeah, they didn't make the big dives. 

[fathom]

1 hour ago, Chicago White Sox said:

The biggest issue with the previous rebuild was a lack of future wave of prospects to support the original core, partially driven by safe / need-based drafting.  We should be talking the best, high talent ceiling regardless of position in the draft moving forward and in rounds 2 & 3 of next year’s draft that will likely be prep players with the amount of pool dollars we should have.

Biggest issue with previous rebuild was they were all injury prone, and then shockingly lost their athletic ability 

Edited 17 hours ago by fathom

[Timmy U]

27 minutes ago, fathom said:

Biggest issue with previous rebuild was they were all injury prone, and then shockingly lost their athletic ability 

Another huge issue with that rebuild is too many slow righty hitters in an era where suddenly every righthander seems to have at least a 50 slider. Having lefties in this environment is more important than ever.

[caulfield12]

7 minutes ago, Timmy U said:

Another huge issue with that rebuild is too many slow righty hitters in an era where suddenly every righthander seems to have at least a 50 slider. Having lefties in this environment is more important than ever.

Mazara and Eaton reruns great picks.

Or Alonso Jay Encarnacion.

Or LaRoche/M.Cabrera.

Hahn was simply terrible with FAs and the majority of his trades as well.

Minor league drafting and development hardly any better.

[southsider2k5]

3 hours ago, fathom said:

Biggest issue with previous rebuild was they were all injury prone, and then shockingly lost their athletic ability 

It's almost like playing guys while hurt has consequences. 

[Bigsoxhurt35]

Starting to get pumped about baseball again. This had me stoked. Can’t wait for the draft next year. 

[Lukakke Appling]

10 hours ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

I know we hear that this is a high talent level draft and there could be kids who come on strong during the season  but as of now is the talent level greater  among the college kids or HS kids ? 

Don't you think that with a decent core in the making now that its possible that 2 of the top 3 picks could be collegians with an eye on 2028 and 2029 to be back to being a lot more competitive if Cholowski and a high quality collegian in the 2nd round is available who has a high ask that might be available to the Sox ? 

In general it’s easier to float prep talent down, as they have the leverage to not sign if their price isn’t met. That’s the appeal of going high school in rounds 2,3 when you have a big pool to play with. 

[77 Hitmen]

16 hours ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

The other problem with the last rebuild is that they finally had a competitive team but went cheap in free agency and didn’t bolster the team with top tier free agents.  The same thing is going to happen again unless Ishbia takes over the team in 2029 and spends money.

I wonder if Ishbia would be willing to inject more money into the MLB payroll if it really did turn out that the Sox were a top FA or two away from competing in 2029 and JR hasn't handed over ownership yet at that point.   Being able to hit the ground running with a highly competitive team when he finally does take over would probably be ideal for him.