Chicago White Sox: Andrew Vaughn has star potential

With Spring Training underway, fans get to see their favorite Chicago White Sox players and young prospects that got the invite.

There are already a few prospects catching the attention of the fans. One of them being, last year’s first-round draft pick Andrew Vaughn. It’s also not just the fans’ attention, but baseball writer and author Keith Law. Law deemed Andrew Vaughn number 28 on his list of Top 100 prospects for 2020. Andrew Vaughn’s latest praise solidifies his potential as a future star for the franchise.

Even though he’s now known as a top first base prospect, Vaughn was quite the right-handed pitcher in high school and still performed well in plate appearances. In his four years, he acquired 13 wins and four losses with a 2.05 ERA. His player duality could be useful in his Major League career and it contributes to his skill level. Vaughn is a talented ballplayer who is making White Sox fans more optimistic about the future of this franchise.

As a division one first baseman, Vaughn made a name for himself in the Pacific-12 Conference. In 2018, he won the Golden Spikes Award during a spectacular season for him. At the University of California, he slashed .374/.495/.688 which is why the White Sox were so inclined to draft him third overall in 2019. In his collegiate career, Vaughn’s ability to make contact and his amount of power were on display in his plate appearances. As the heir to first base, his ability to hit home runs mirrors potential Jose Abreu style.

In Law’s rankings, he says, “Vaughn was the best pure hitter in the draft,” and describes his swing as “clean” and “simple”. In his minor league career, Vaughn slashed .278/.384/.449 and he also demonstrated good defense. He acknowledges that his swing is efficient and produces the power and contact needed to be effective in games.

It’s stated that Vaughn will have to be extremely good in his plate appearances to become a star and debut in a starting role for the White Sox. He went on to say, that due to his skills he could achieve that and Vaughn can be a tremendous successor to Abreu one day. The question is, when will that be? To be fair, there’s no rush because of the confidence everyone has in Abreu. When his time comes, it’s likely Vaughn will make himself known in the South Side.

In Spring Training, Vaughn has been quiet in the few games he has played in, but he has shown off his contact and power. Earlier in the week, Vaughn squared up a pitch and launched one into center field for a double against the Los Angeles Dodgers. There is no doubt that Vaughn is a player to watch and that the Chicago White Sox have another future star on their hands with him.