The 2025 MLB draft class is heavy on prep shortstops. The White Sox sound like they like the prep shortstops. Jim Callis and Josh talked about how their White Sox watch boards are very prep shortstop-heavy. All of this seems to point to the White Sox taking a prep shortstop, which Callis did last Friday when he sent JoJo Parker to the Sox with the 10th pick.
But a couple of alternate courses have emerged over this week's mock draft cycle, and not necessarily out of the same motivation.
Baseball America's latest mock draft published today has the White Sox selecting Florida State lefty Jamie Arnold. Carlos Collazo is consistent here, because he had the White Sox selecting Arnold in his previous mock, and in both cases, it's because the preferred shortstops are off the board:
The White Sox seem to be on all the same names as the teams in front of them, so I have them taking a player who could easily go seven spots in front of them in Arnold. It sounds like the White Sox could covet both Billy Carlson and JoJo Parker, but neither are available in this scenario. Other names I’ve heard tied to Chicago include Kyson Witherspoon, Tyler Bremner, Kayson Cunningham, Gavin Kilen and Jace LaViolette.
This is the straightforward scenario. Carlson goes at No. 7 to the Marlins, and the Blue Jays select JoJo Parker next, so the White Sox go with the draft's other strength and choose the best college arm available, who also happens to fit the mold of the low-slot lefty with an MLB-ready breaking ball that they seem to love so well.
There's also a more convoluted path that's making waves this week involving 6-foot-8-inch Oregon prep lefty Kruz Schoolcraft. It was first introduced by ESPN's Kiley McDaniel on Monday in his article covering 30 big questions for the 30 MLB teams:
One big question: Will the White Sox hit pay dirt with another high schooler with one of their top two picks?
Chicago is picking in a spot where it will have some prep options for its first pick -- JoJo Parker, Billy Carlson and Steele Hall are rumored to be in the mix -- though there's also at least as many college players who could also be considered.
Chicago has also been tied to prep lefty Kruz Schoolcraft and there's a shot the White Sox could float him to their second pick with a big bonus, which might fit better with an underslot choice at their first pick.
Keith Law took it one step further in his mock draft on Tuesday by having the White Sox pick Schoolcraft in the first round:
The White Sox are the first wild-card team in the mock, as they are looking at names beyond the obvious ones. I’ve heard them specifically linked to Schoolcraft, Steele Hall, Tyler Bremner and JoJo Parker.
But unlike the BA mock, Parker is still available, and ends up going to the Rangers with the 12th pick.
If nothing else, that Schoolcraft is seen as a possibility at No. 10 and No. 44 reflects his in-between status. McDaniel has said that signing Schoolcraft would require a slot value in the low-20s (which is about $4 million) to get him out of his Tennessee commitment. The White Sox have the first pick in the second round, which has a slot value of $2.22 million.
The White Sox did use this strategy in 2020 to sign Jared Kelley after taking him with the 47th pick. He signed for $3 million, which was nearly twice the slot value of $1.58 million, and they created it by skimping on the remaining rounds since first-round pick Garrett Crochet signed for slot value.
Why wouldn't the White Sox do it again? That draft was only five rounds long due to the pandemic, so it was easier to math out. Also, Kelley never clicked -- although he's still banging around the system as a relief arm -- so he's not the most scintillating of precedents.
Perhaps the 11th-hour emergence of Schoolcraft is a legit response to the idea that the shortstops the White Sox would consider paying slot value won't be there. Perhaps the White Sox are feeling out this idea to create leverage against a guy they don't want to pay $6,238,400 if they don't have to. It behooves Schoolcraft to have a team interested in him this early, so maybe his camp is playing it up.
In short: Who knows? When the leading national analysts have the White Sox selecting a prep shortstop, a prep pitcher and a college arm with the 10th pick, it seems to suggest that everybody is guessing here, at least more than usual.
