Tyler Flowers will have some company when it comes to players in the Chicago White Sox organization who wear sports glasses.
With the eighth pick of the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft, the White Sox selected Carson Fulmer, a right-handed pitcher from Vanderbilt University.
This is a very solid choice by the White Sox, drafting a collegiate pitcher for the second consecutive season, as one year earlier the White Sox selected left-hander Carlos Rodon from the North Carolina State in ’14.
As we all know, Rodon is already in the White Sox starting rotation less than a year after being drafted, so the organization gets an A for their selection last year.
With the first-round selection this year, Fulmer brings a pitcher who seems to be the real deal. That’s the type of pitcher the White Sox will need maybe as soon as next season, with the back of the rotation still shaky and still no certainty that Jeff Samardzija will be back next season.
Scott Merkin of WhiteSox.com quoted White Sox assistant scouting director Nick Hostetler about the newest draft choice of the White Sox:
"“He’s one of the best kids I’ve ever met in the world. I would want this kid to start Game 7 of the World Series for me, but also marry my daughter. He’s that type of kid.”"
What a great quote for a player they just drafted. In the first game of the Champaign super regional, Baseball America’s Vince Lara-Cinisomo wrote the following about Fulmer’s outing:
"“Fulmer struck out five, walked five and gave up just four hits—two to Ryan Nagle—touching 95 mph twice, but showing an inconsistent curve and using a still-developing changeup much more often than usual early in ending Illinois’ 19-game home winning streak.”"
In ’15, Fulmer is 13-2 with a 1.82 ERA in 17 starts. His 114 innings pitched have him with 152 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.06. Last season (2-14), Fulmer totaled 95 strikeouts in 91 innings (26 games), where he also had 10 saves.
Once Fulmer is finished with the College World Series, and he signs a contract with the White Sox, his path to the majors will be exciting to track. Hopefully like the path Rodon took, we’ll see Fulmer in the majors sooner rather than later.
Baseball America had Fulmer as their sixth-rated player in the draft.