54 minutes ago, tray said:

Grady Emerson might be the next Bobby Witt Jr.

I'm one of, if not Emerson's biggest fan on this site. No, he ain't nor ever will be Bobby Witt Jr. BUT.. I am a big believer in his hit tool. Kid is gonna be an absolute stud. Just a different player.

14 minutes ago, SoxAce said:

I'm one of, if not Emerson's biggest fan on this site. No, he ain't nor ever will be Bobby Witt Jr. BUT.. I am a big believer in his hit tool. Kid is gonna be an absolute stud. Just a different player.

I was attempting to make an analogy to two current mlb players with the key word "might" attached to it. Read my post again.

4 hours ago, tray said:

Grady Emerson might be the next Bobby Witt Jr. . Chowlowsy profiles more like Dansby Swanson. Good players with different qualities and potential. If you can see that analogy a bit, take it one step further...who would you rather have right now if you could choose between Dansby Swanson and BobbyWitt Jr.?

I like Grady Emerson, hands down and his timeline fits much better within the White Sox current system.

They aren't good comps though. What if I said Roch Cholowsky was Carlos Correa and Grady Emerson would be Kevin McGonigle but Roch gets to majors at least 1 year sooner?

Edited Friday at 01:34 AM3 days by Chick Mercedes

6 hours ago, tray said:

Grady Emerson might be the next Bobby Witt Jr. . Chowlowsy profiles more like Dansby Swanson. Good players with different qualities and potential. If you can see that analogy a bit, take it one step further...who would you rather have right now if you could choose between Dansby Swanson and BobbyWitt Jr.?

I like Grady Emerson, hands down and his timeline fits much better within the White Sox current system.

The timeline is irrelevant to me. Who is the SS that in 10 years you’re remembering for picking rather than the SS you’re remembered for passing up ignominiously. That’s the relevant question

22 hours ago, DirtySox said:

Good.

In a wacky world/scenario where the Sox go outside of the big 3 to cut a deal, give me Tyler Bell or Drew Burress.

Man, I hope they don't act like they're the smartest guy in the room and do something like that. Because they will just outsmart themselves.

If we get a dude who turns out to be on the line with Carlos Correa ( I hate that name ) - I would be stoked.

Can’t think of us having a first rounder who gave us that much production since the 90s. We are due.

Cholowsky to Correa isn't a very good comp either.

Pre injury Correa was a border line superstar, especially in the post season.

5 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

Cholowsky to Correa isn't a very good comp either.

Pre injury Correa was a border line superstar, especially in the post season.

I think of Roch’s ceiling as being there.

11 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

Cholowsky to Correa isn't a very good comp either.

Pre injury Correa was a border line superstar, especially in the post season.

Correct. I think they're very similar.

24 minutes ago, hi8is said:

I think of Roch’s ceiling as being there.

".366 career on-base percentage is the highest by an AL shorstop in MLB history through his first three seasons..."

That's just a BIT higher than Swanson/Brandon Crawford or even Tulo.

And Correa could at least get 12-15 steals per season when he first entered the league.

Edited Friday at 04:21 AM3 days by caulfield12

3 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

".366 career on-base percentage is the highest by an AL shorstop in MLB history through his first three seasons..."

That's just a BIT higher than Swanson/Brandon Crawford or even Tulo.

And Correa could at least get 12-15 steals per season when he first entered the league.

I guess that asshole douchebag b**** hole was better than I remembered.

That dickhead.

My vote is for Emerson. We have a shortstop now. We have an imediate back up (JaGon) in case of injury.

I think the Sox should look for tomorrow's star shortstop. Bonemer hit 2 more homers last night. He'll be

here soon. Keep the minor league pipeline stocked. I'd probably look for pitching in rounds 2-5.

On 7/2/2026 at 1:16 PM, SoxAce said:

I'm one of, if not Emerson's biggest fan on this site. No, he ain't nor ever will be Bobby Witt Jr. BUT.. I am a big believer in his hit tool. Kid is gonna be an absolute stud. Just a different player.

Hit tool is the hardest skill to project and as a carrying tool I hate it. This kid is facing mediocre HS pitching and even on the summer circuit he's facing what is basically ASL at best. At best. Other games it's just more mediocre HS pitching.

Just pick Roch or Lackey and do not outsmart yourselves. Let someone else take on that downside risk. You have the #1 pick, no need.

15 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said:

Hit tool is the hardest skill to project and as a carrying tool I hate it. This kid is facing mediocre HS pitching and even on the summer circuit he's facing what is basically ASL at best. At best. Other games it's just more mediocre HS pitching.

Just pick Roch or Lackey and do not outsmart yourselves. Let someone else take on that downside risk. You have the #1 pick, no need.

This is what sways me off Emerson exactly but I acknowledge that I don’t know about the kid as much as others here do.

33 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said:

Hit tool is the hardest skill to project and as a carrying tool I hate it. This kid is facing mediocre HS pitching and even on the summer circuit he's facing what is basically ASL at best. At best. Other games it's just more mediocre HS pitching.

Just pick Roch or Lackey and do not outsmart yourselves. Let someone else take on that downside risk. You have the #1 pick, no need.

If Roch did what he has done in the SEC that would be one thing, but he put up his numbers in the weak Big Ten. I don't think Roch is the sure thing everyone thinks he is.

8 hours ago, chitownsportsfan said:

Hit tool is the hardest skill to project and as a carrying tool I hate it. This kid is facing mediocre HS pitching and even on the summer circuit he's facing what is basically ASL at best. At best. Other games it's just more mediocre HS pitching.

Just pick Roch or Lackey and do not outsmart yourselves. Let someone else take on that downside risk. You have the #1 pick, no need.

But isn't that the primary tool for a top draft pick? Just as an example (and I'm no scout; I really know nothing about any of these guys other than what I read), if it ends up that Emerson can't hit and Roch can't hit, what do you have? With Emerson, it's a complete washout - a guy who can't play at all. With Roch, you have Royce Clayton (or, in an earlier era, Ron Hansen or Roger Metzger). Well, to me, Claytons are easy to find so I'd still go with the hit tool. Now Lackey is a little different in that defensive catchers are a little harder to find.
While Emerson would be my choice if I were picking, as a fan, I just want them to pick who they think is best, irrespective of saving a few bucks on slot, current roster, etc.

Alright. I’m finally locked in. Roch should indeed be the pick.

Eventually on moving Colson to third ( protect his back and he’s probably going to give better D there than Vargas ), move Vargas to first / DH with Mune ( in the event we extend him ), and benefit from his defense from day one in mid 27 or day one 28.

You also get a chance to flex on the development side if you’re able to help him unlock his pull side power ( which we have seen Fuller have success with ).

I think he will be the pick and I think it’s the right one.

If Lackey was willing and truly athletic enough to excel in a up the middle role on the grass then I would have been swayed to take that kid.

Emerson we’d be banking on our development staff having their time to mold him into a player that has more output than Roch but I’m not willing to take that gamble with this staff nor do I want to wait for at least an extra year when our window is already open.

I’m going to be on the edge of my seat until Saturday and really hope whatever happens - it ends up being the right draft selection. We’ve missed high in the first round more than we have hit and at 1.1 you CANNOT afford to miss.

I feel that this decision, if made correctly, is one of the few things that would push us to an era of controlling the central and finally having the sustained success promised by dweebs of years passed.