White Sox select Kade Mechals in the fourth round of MLB draft
Day two of the 2020 MLB draft got off to a great start for the White Sox, who were able to land Jared Kelley with the 47th overall pick. Kelley was ranked near the Top 10 by most publications and has first-round talent, so the White Sox would have to give Kelley an overslot bonus to keep him away from his University of Texas commitment.
After the selection of Garrett Crochet on Wednesday, followed by Kelley in the second round on Thursday, it was clear that the White Sox were focused on pitching in this draft. It was also clear that those two will take up a large portion of the pool money, as the White Sox swung for the fences with their first two picks.
The White Sox went on to grab Adisyn Coffey, a right-handed pitcher from Wabash Valley College in the third round. In the fourth round, they continued the pitching trend by selecting Kade Mechals, a right-handed pitcher from Grand Canyon University.
Mechals has spent most of his career out of the bullpen, minus his junior season where he was primarily a starting pitcher. Mechals is undersized at 5´11´´, 185 pounds but he has put up some respectable numbers throughout his college career.
Across three seasons, Mechals posted a 2.08 ERA with 48 walks and 155 strikeouts in 129 ⅔ innings. He was previously drafted by the Miami Marlins in the 40th round last year, but decided to return to Grand Canyon for his senior season.
His 2020 season got off to a great start against No. 16 Oklahoma State on opening night. Mechals tossed five innings and allowed just three hits, three walks, and piled up eight strikeouts to lead Grand Canyon to an impressive win.
Unfortunately, Mechals ended the 2020 season on a different note. He had Tommy John surgery in May, so he won't be able to pitch until next year. He was unranked by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, and his fastball sat in the 88-92 mph range before surgery.
As we are getting towards the end of the MLB draft, it's evident that the White Sox wanted to invest heavily in their first two picks. They were able to land two Top 20 pitchers, and the Kelley value at 47th overall is off the charts. All things considered, I'm happy with the way their draft has gone thus far and I'm happy with their strategy.
The White Sox will have one more selection tonight before they can officially close the door on their 2020 draft class. Be sure to check out our coverage of the final pick this evening — it's shaping up to be an entertaining one.