When the White Sox selected Blake Shepardson out of the University of San Francisco in the 11th round of last year's draft, it marked a departure of strategy. In the previous two drafts, the White Sox used Day 3's first pick on accomplished collegiate players -- Rikuu Nishida in 2023, Jacob Burke in 2022. Both have gone on to enjoy some measure of minor league success, albeit with skill sets that are short on major league tools.
In 2024, the Sox tabbed Shepardson with the fourth pick of the third day, even though he'd walked 29 batters and plunked 13 more over 30 innings with the Dons during the spring. It was a curious choice, although you have to adjust for the idea that most Day 3 picks weren't among the first 300-something players selected for some reason.
Talking to reporters after the draft, Mike Shirley settled on Shepardson as his favorite sleeper.
They view him as a reliever, but Shirley defended his ability to throw strikes long-term, suggesting his previous stops didn't allow him to develop command with his whole arsenal.
"I saw the athlete, a quality delivery and a kind of arm speed you just don’t run into every day. On top, I saw a slider he really commanded. And it’s just about usage. Sometimes we talk about no track record. Once again, these college coaches, they have a different perspective because their job is on the line. It’s not like professional baseball sometimes in terms of how they develop players and how we develop players."
Shepardson didn't pitch for the White Sox in 2024, but he opened the season in the Kannapolis bullpen, and Thursday's game against Lynchburg was his third appearance. It's not off to the greatest start:
He loaded the bases on 11 pitches before manager Chad Pinder pulled him to protect a suddenly precarious 10-4 lead. He's throwing strikes with 32 percent of his pitches, which is half the major league average, and he went to a breaking ball on a 3-0 count, which suggests that nothing is particularly comfortable for him right now.
The hope is that everybody can look back at this post in September and marvel at how much Shepardson improved over the course of the 2025 season. The fear is that the Sox won't need five months tor realize it isn't working.
Jacksonville 8, Charlotte 5
- Edgar Quero was 0-for-3 with a sac fly and a strikeout.
- Kyle Teel, 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk, and was caught stealing.
- Tim Elko went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Nick Nastrini: 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 1 WP, 48 of 83 pitches for strikes.
Greensboro 4, Winston-Salem 2
- Jeral Perez went 1-for-5 with three strikeouts.
- Tanner McDougal: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 41 of 65 pitches for strikes.
Notes:
*McDougal is 1-17 in his minor league career, but he actually departed this start in line for the win before the bullpen let it slip away.
Kannapolis 13, Lynchburg 6
- Javier Mogollon went 2-for-5 with his first A-ball homer, a walk, two strikeouts and a stolen base.
- Ronny Hernandez went 1-for-4 with two walks and a strikeout.
- Braden Montgomery was 1-for-4 with a walk, HBP, strikeout and stolen base.
- George Wolkow went 0-for-5 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Nick McLain, 2-for-4 with two walks and a strikeout.
- Casey Saucke went 1-for-6 with a strikeout and a stolen base.
- Lyle Miller-Green, 1-for-3 with a triple, two walks and two stolen bases.
- Ryan Burrowes went 2-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Blake Shepardson: 0 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 2 HBP, two of 11 pitches for strikes.
Notes:
*The Cannon Ballers drew nine walks and went 8-for-8 in stolen bases.
