White Sox take righthander Jared Kelley in the second round
After taking a college pitcher in Garrett Crochet with the 11th overall pick in the 2020 MLB draft, the White Sox followed that up by taking Jared Kelley with the 47th overall pick.
This is someone who a lot of people thought would go on day one — and early on day one — as he was ranked as the 12th-best overall prospect by MLB.com.
With a high school player falling this far, you have to worry a little bit about his signability. A lot will likely depend on whether or not the White Sox can get Crochet for underslot value, as they'll likely have to go over slot to sign Kelley.
But if they are able to sign Kelley, they may have just gotten the steal of the draft.
This is big-body, high school kid at 6´3´´ and 215 pounds. He throws a fastball in the mid-to-upper 90s that looks effortless and repeatable.
Kelley's best secondary pitch is a plus changeup, but he'll need to fine-tune his slider to become an effective starter at the next level.
The righty is from Refugio High School in Texas and is committed to play college baseball at the University of Texas.
Again, this could be a huge pick for the White Sox if they are able to sign him, but that will be a huge challenge for the Texas commit, given he is already a Top 10 talent without pitching a single inning in Austin.
This will be an interesting one to track over the next couple of weeks. Remember, the deadline to sign draft picks has been extended to August 1.
Either way, the White Sox are trying to stockpile starting pitching in this draft, taking Crochet and Kelley 1-2.
Obviously, the White Sox feel like they have a lineup that will be able to compete for years to come. Now they just need to the pitching to complement the offense.
Stay tuned to South Side Hit Pen, as we can continue to update throughout the draft.
lead video courtesy of the Chicago White Sox