6 minutes ago, Sleepy Harold said:

In regard to 1.1, all three would/will be underslot, it's just a matter of how much under they'll come in at. The Pirates supposedly have their comp pick available for some immediate help (believe I saw that they wanted bullpen help), but not sure if the Soxline up with them in that regard.

Joe Rock and Tyler Davis are just that lefty-righty combo that pushes a team through the dog days.

2 hours ago, Goober said:

Nope Emercrap is hitless against college pitching, Rochmyjock has 224 hits

I would rather take Roch over Emerson, but your reasoning is pretty poor.

37 minutes ago, SoxBlanco said:

I would rather take Roch over Emerson, but your reasoning is pretty poor.

Yankees scout Greenwade returned in 1949, after Mickey Mantle's high school graduation, to sign Mantle to a minor league contract with the Yankees at $140 per month (equivalent to $1,900 in 2025), with a $1,500 signing bonus (equivalent to $20,300 in 2025).^[8]

Edited 11 hours ago11 hr by caulfield12

It’s gonna suck if they take the wrong guy. I honestly don’t see the Sox taking Emerson over Roch with where the team is currently at, but Lackey being a better player than Roch would be brutal.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/49310240/white-sox-say-3-candidates-no-1-pick-mlb-amateur-draft

Edited 11 hours ago11 hr by WhiteSox2023

Fangraphs has Sox taking Emerson

11 minutes ago, fathom said:

Fangraphs has Sox taking Emerson

FanGraphs Baseball

2026 Mock Draft 1.0

With the Draft set to kick off Saturday, who’s going where in the first round? Plus, updated draft reports have hit The Board.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2026/07/08/white-sox-scouting-director-mike-shirley-roch-cholowsky-grady-emerson-vahn-lackey-mlb-draft-chris-getz

9 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2026/07/08/white-sox-scouting-director-mike-shirley-roch-cholowsky-grady-emerson-vahn-lackey-mlb-draft-chris-getz

“He’s told us we’re taking the best player,” Shirley said. “It’s not about the major-league team, it’s not about the money; it’s about who is the best player. It’s a little bit out of our hands if the representation of the player asks for a record bonus that we’re not comfortable with. That would be the only indication that may make us pivot, what the actual costs were.”

OH noes! The dreaded pivot

When push comes to shove I'll be curious who has the final say in the organization. I assume it would be Getz but who knows.

And who knows how much influence JR may have in it.

I think Law said that negotiations don't really begin between 36 and 48 hours before the draft. This could be positioning.

I may be the minority, but if Lackey is an elite catcher, then it would be hard for me not to draft me. I know we have Teel, but keeping both fresh would be incredible.

I don't think Sam Anatocci is the left fielder of the future. Eventually, I can see him moving to 2nd and Meridoth being the best utility guy in the league.

27 minutes ago, kwill said:

think Law said that negotiations don't really begin between 36 and 48 hours before the draft. This could be positioning

I have it on authority of a broadcast personality that they’re taking Roch and everything we see in the media has been smoke and mirrors. “Roch is the pick and it’s been decided for a month.”

Asked him his source and he claims it is Ozzie.

I told him that I doubt Ozzie knows or would be told a month ago if this even was the case and of course he replied with the good ol’

“Believe whatever you want.”

🤷🏻‍♂️

If you want to keep a secret, tell Ozzie

8 hours ago, Chick Mercedes said:

“He’s told us we’re taking the best player,” Shirley said. “It’s not about the major-league team, it’s not about the money; it’s about who is the best player. It’s a little bit out of our hands if the representation of the player asks for a record bonus that we’re not comfortable with. That would be the only indication that may make us pivot, what the actual costs were.”

OH noes! The dreaded pivot

We know that it won't be Lackey asking for the record bonus and attempting to pull a Konner Griffin, sliding to SFG.

But Emerson has just a bit (not by much) more leverage with the college threat.

I know smokescreens exist, but man this screams Roch.

You don't put out a promo video where Roch is featured more than Emerson — and always first among all three. Before anyone says it means nothing, it's like @Y2Jimmy0 keeps saying on the FutureSox pod, this isn't for Sox sickos, this is for average fans that have been getting hype for Roch for a solid year now.

Last two expert predictions on Lackey were 0 and 2%, about the same odds as Mune signing with the Sox last October.

5 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

Last two expert predictions on Lackey were 0 and 2%, about the same odds as Mune signing with the Sox last October.

One of those notably involves predicting the Sox outbidding other teams vs. drafting a player.

Roch seems like the safe and most likely pick. And not safe in low risk, lower reward. He's probably the lowest risk with a potentially high to very high reward. Emerson is higher risk but possibly a higher reward. Lackey is the wild card, the "WTF but I appreciate the risk" pick.

Roch could be up with the MLB club in 2027 while Emerson is probably a couple years away. The Sox have a logjam in the middle infield, and picking Roch would force them to make some decisions earlier. One of the higher rated MI prospects could be dealt at the deadline for pitching. It's a good problem to have, but as a fan, it's nerve-racking.

Thank you @Y2Jimmy0 and @Sleepy Harold for all the work you guys do with FutureSox. It's great especially around draft time.