Chicago White Sox 2019 MLB Draft Report Card — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects

Image credit: Andrew Vaughn (Photo by Zach Lucy/Four Seam Images)

Every year at the conclusion of the regular season, Baseball America revisits each teams’ most recent draft class. Each class has its no-doubt, high-profile names to keep an eye on, but our annual draft report cards highlight the best tools, best debuts, late-round steals and more. Here are the names you need to know from every organization’s 2019 draft.

You can see the full Chicago White 2019 draft class here. Find all of our 2019 draft report cards here.

Best Pure Hitter: This category easily goes to 1B Andrew Vaughn (1). The No. 3 overall pick in the draft, Vaughn projects as a plus hitter with plus power. The White Sox were drawn to him because of the way his swing allows the barrel of the bat to stay through the strike zone for a long time and with incredible impact.

Best Power: Vaughn’s potential plus power makes him a fit here, too, but an under-the-radar candidate might be Illinois high school 3B Damon Gladney (16). Entering the spring, Gladney was known for more of a hit-over-power profile but showed better than expected pop during pre-draft workouts. He has the athleticism and makeup to continue tapping into that power as he moves up the ladder and could have above-average power in the big leagues.

Fastest Runner: OF James Beard (4) wins this category easily. He’s an 80-grade runner on the 20-to-80 scouting scale, was the fastest player available in the entire class and swiped nine bases in his pro debut in the Rookie-level Arizona League.

Best Defensive Player: C Victor Torres (11) earns high marks for his receiving, throwing and ability to handle pitching staffs. He showed the aptitude to quickly learn how to call his own game and produced pop times in the 1.90 to 1.92-second range. He threw out 30 percent of runners in his pro debut.

Best Athlete: Beard takes this category, too, but OF Cameron Simmons (20) was in consideration. Simmons, a Virginia product who missed time during his final season with a shoulder injury, socked five home runs and stole five bases between Rookie-level Great Falls and low Class A Kannapolis in his pro debut.

Best Fastball: Arkansas-Little Rock RHP McKinley Moore (14) runs his fastball up to 98-99 mph and sits in the mid-90s, so he’s the runaway winner here.

Best Secondary Pitch: Houston high school RHP Matthew Thompson (2) has a four-pitch mix, but his best offspeed offering is his potentially plus curveball which shows excellent depth in the upper-70s.

Best Pro Debut: Vaughn made it to high Class A Winston-Salem and showed the ability to make hard contact and control the strike zone.

Most Intriguing Background: RHP Nick Silva (40) is a nephew of former 14-time All-Star Alex Rodriguez.

Closest To The Majors: Vaughn carries a strong college pedigree and posted a .760 OPS in the high Class A Carolina League in his pro debut. His hit tool and overall polish should allow him to move quickly.

Best Late-Round Pick: Gladney, who socked eight home runs in the Arizona League, fits the bill here. Other candidates include OF Logan Glass (22), who is a projectable athlete at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, and OF Chase Krogman (34) who is a little more polished than Glass.

The One Who Got Away: The White Sox signed each of their players through the first 27 rounds before failing to sign Hillsboro (Texas) High OF Caeden Trenkle (28). The team also missed out on inking another Texas prep product in OF Logan Britt (35), who has a physical frame, plus power potential and a big arm.