The Chicago White Sox need to hit in the 2025 MLB Draft. The draft is starting to become the only path the club has to acquire elite talent.
The team does not have many trade assets to bring back a prospect haul like the franchise got for Garrett Crochet or Chris Sale back in the day.
Luis Robert Jr. is no longer going to fetch two top 100 prospects like Crochet yielded from Boston in the offseason. Mike Tauchman and Adrian Houser could get some promising players back in a trade, but won't come close to receiving Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomery, Chase Meidroth, and Wikelman Gonzalez.
As far as ownership is concerned, Jerry Reinsdorf will keep control of the team through at least 2029. Since Reinsdorf has still never authorized a $100 million contract for a free agent, I do not expect a major free agent spending spree to get superstar talent.
That leaves the draft as the only way the White Sox can acquire a true superstar.
The pressure is on the White Sox front office
The pressure is on for GM Chris Getz and amateur scouting director Mike Shirley to get this draft correct.
Granted, the pressure was on last year too. It is still early, but the returns look promising with last year's No. 1 pick, Hagen Smith, already considered the third-best left-handed pitching prospect, per MLB Pipeline. There is also a lot of hype around second-round pick, shortstop Caleb Bonemer. Baseball America has him ranked in their Top 100 prospect list.
This year feels a bit different, though. The White Sox are coming off a 41-121 season. If they don't get an exciting pleyer in the draft as a result, it will all be for nothing. Chicago has a huge need for position players in the farm system and if they want to realistically compete by 2027, they need to hit on draft picks that can fit in the MLB lineup before long.
It sounds like the White Sox have narrowed down their list of players they could take with the No. 10 pick on Sunday.
Shirley: "Two college hitters, there’s two strong college pitchers we like, there’s about five high school shortstops that we worked really hard on, and there’s one high school pitcher that is extremely talented. His talent is something that makes you pay attention to him."
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) July 6, 2025
I just want to remind everyone, the MLB Draft is not like the NFL or NBA Draft. It is rare to get immediate help in the MLB Draft. MLB teams like to narrow down who they want to take. They then get a general idea of the signing bonus each prospect they target would want. Finally, teams will decide to go with the best player available based on talent or cost-effectiveness.
Drafting in baseball is more of a business decision than it is getting immediate roster help like the NFL.
The benefit of taking a college player is that the prospects are usually quicker to the Major Leagues. A high school player might have more upside, but the college player has a bit more experience facing better competition. They don't take as long to develop.
Mike Shirley told MLB.com's Scott Merkin that the team is targeting two college hitters. If I had to guess who those college bats were, I'd say it is likely Auburn's Ike Irish and Arizona's Brendan Summerhill. Texas A&M's Jace LaViolette is another player who could be in the mix for the White Sox.
Ike Irish, C/OF
Chris Getz believes catching is gold and if there is one draft pick the GM truly gets involved in, it is the first-round selection.
It would not be a shock to me if the White Sox to draft a catcher. Ike Irish can also play the outfield and the White Sox farm system needs more impact outfielders.
Irish is ranked as the 11th-best draft prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. The left-handed hitting Irish has above-average hit and power grades on the scouting 20-80 scale. He has a 60-grade hit tool and 55-grade power. He also has a 55-grade arm.
Irish hit 14 home runs in 2024 for the Tigers. He belted 19 dingers for an encore in 2025. Irish sported a 1.060 OPS in three college seasons, but only hit two home runs over two seasons in the wood-bat Cape Cod League, where he did have a .811 OPS.
Brendan Summerhill, OF
Brendan Summerhill is a local kid who went to Whitney Young High School in the Chicago Public League. It feels like a natural fit for Mike Shirley, likes midwestern-born and bred players.
Two of the first five first-round picks the team has made under Shirley have come from the Midwest. Colson Montgomery is from Indiana, and Noah Schultz is from Naperville, IL.
FutureSox.net's Sam Gutterman suggests the White Sox might take Summerhill to save some bonus pool money, which could allow the Sox to get creative with the 44th overall pick and float a first-round talent to the second round.
I do not think drafting Summerhill would be a major reach. He has a 55-grade hit tool with an average 50-grade power rating. Summerhill only hit 14 home runs at Arizona, with eight coming in 2024. Hitting director Ryan Fuller could work with him to unlock some power in his swing.
Summerhill also hits left-handed. That fits into the traits the White Sox have liked with their higher-end outfield prospects like Braden Montgomery and George Wolkow.
Summerhill is ranked the 16th-best prospect in the drafr by MLB Pipeline.
Jace LaViolette, OF
Jace LaViolette's power grade is an impressive 65. He crushed 38 career home runs for the Texas A&M Aggies. It is safe to say the power potential is there and the White Sox need more power with Rate Field being such a homer-friendly ballpark.
The problem is that LaViolette's batting average went from .305 in 2024 to .258 this season. He hit 29 home runs in 2024 and only 19 in 2025. The drop in production is alarming.
Shirley has ties to Texas A&M. The power is a tempting risk. However, if the White Sox want to take a risk, it might be better to go with the prep shortstops that Shirley was talking about. There is just more time to be patient with a prep player, where LaViolette will be 22 when next year's minor league season starts.
If work needs to be done with his swing, LaViolette might not get to the big leagues until he is 24 or 25, depending on how long he takes to develop.
A high school player who is 17 or 18 can take four years in the minors and still be the age Laviolette is now. If the Sox want to take a gamble, use the time advantage a prep bat provides.