2003 White Sox Draft

[dasox24]

Here are some players I think the Sox should look at drafting in the first 4 rounds(I'm not saying we're going to draft all these guys, i'm just listing players who we might be able to draft).

Round 1(15)-

L-L Brad Snyder - OF - Ball State Junior 6-2 200

Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American in 2001 ... Nice mixture of size and speed for an outfielder ... Registered 14 homers and 61 RBI while hitting .405 in 2003 ... Drew a team-high 49 walks ... Second in the Mid-American Conference with 68 runs scored ... Also registered a MAC-high 25 doubles during his junior campaign… Snyder is one of the top hitters in the draft… He's patient with good bat speed and plus power potential, though he strikes out more than you'd like to see at this level… Athletically, he's no worse than average with every tool and should end up in right… His ability to come back from career threatening injuries two years ago is indicative of his work ethic.

 

L-L Nick Markakis - P - Young Harris JC (Ga.) Sophomore 6-2 185

A left-hander with tremendous arm strength for pitching and excellent hitting skills ... Compiled a 12-0 mark with one save and a 1.68 ERA this past season ... Walked 33 batters, but had 160 strikeouts ... Teams hit just .182 against him ... Best pitch considered his fastball, as he was clocked early in 2003 at 96 mph ... Breaking ball in the low 80's ... A two-time Georgia Junior College Player of the Year...Was Baseball America's National JUCO Player of the Year in 2002 ... Hit .439 this season with 21 homers, 92 RBI ... Struck out only 19 times with 45 walks ... Slugging percentage was .843 and his on-base percentage was .541 ... Stole 19 bases in 20 attempts ... Holds the Young Harris record for homers, RBI and strikeouts as a pitcher ... Projected as a pitcher for now, but could also be put into the field as an everyday player due to incredible hitting talent.

 

R-R Craig Whitaker - P - Lufkin HS (Texas) Senior 6-4 180

Right-hander who can throw in the 90's without too much trouble ... Had a 14- strikeout no-hitter in April and his fastball topped out at 98 mph. in early May … Whitaker has really come on of late. He's a very projectable 6-4 with three pitches - a plus low 90s fastball with nice run (that has hit 98), plus 12-6 curve, and developing changeup. He should be attractive enough to enough teams in the draft to keep him from his college commitment to Texas A&M and could go surprisingly early.

 

Round 2(15)-

Anthony Gwynn – OF - San Diego State Junior 6-0 185

Son of former major league star Tony Gwynn, who is his coach at SDSU .. .A 2003 Baseball America preseason first-team All-America selection...Started all 61 games for the Aztecs this past season and hit .359 with team-highs of 97 hits and 126 total bases. He also had 38 RBI ... He showed no power this season and is primarily a singles hitter who sprayed balls to all fields ... Good defensive CF with natural instincts and good speed ... Is not as polished a hitter as his Hall of Fame caliber father but is fairly selective at the plate with decent gap power ... With any other name he would likely be taken in the fourth or fifth round, but being a Gwynn will probably place him in second round ... Some scouts think he will be a better pro than college player ... Also the nephew of former major leaguer Chris Gwynn.

Ben Harrison – OF - Florida Junior 6-4 205

Second-team pre-season All-American according to Baseball America ... Five-tool college prospect ... Started 53-of-54 games for the Gators this season and hit .347 with 10 home runs and 53 RBI. He also stole 14 bases and had a .433 on-base percentage ... Three-percent body fat on a sculpted frame ... Strong and runs well, both on the basepaths and in the field ... Perceived as a mistake hitter with decent bat speed ... Arm and discipline at the plate are only question marks ... No outfield assists this season and committed four errors. He led the team with 45 strikeouts ... Never really stood out at a major program ... He still could go as high as the second or third round to a team that prizes athleticism and believes it can teach him to make more contact.

 

Round 3(15)-

Tony Richie – C - Florida State Junior 6-1 205

Offensive-minded catcher with great upside on defense ... Hit .362 for the Seminoles during the regular season with 10 home runs and a team-leading 69 RBI ... Also had 23 doubles, 52 runs, a .568 slugging percentage and a .434 on- base percentage ... Had only one passed ball, while throwing out 44 percent of runners ... Owns average arm strength, but handles a pitching staff well, as evidenced by Florida State's team ERA of 2.77 ... Named to Baseball America's second team preseason All-America team ... Fifth-round pick of the White Sox out of high school.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia – C - Royal Palm Beach HS(West Palm Beach, Fla.) Senior 6-4 195

Extremely athletic, switch-hitting catcher that shows good bat speed and power from both sides of the plate ... Also shows good tools for behind the plate, including quick feet and a strong arm ... While high school catchers are considered extremely risky picks early in the draft, Saltalamacchia's overall potential may be just too good to pass up in the second or third round ... Committed to Florida State.

Round 4(15)-

R-R Stuart Pomeranz Houston HS(Memphis, TN) Senior 6-7 218

The best pitching prospect coming out of Tennessee ... He went 9-0 with a 0.11 ERA while averaging two strikeouts an inning ... Stronger body at 6-foot-7 and 218 pounds to go with a deeper and more consistent repertoire then fellow Tennessee pitcher Adam Trent ... He threw in the low 90s every time out and showed good depth on his breaking ball ... Committed to Chipola Junior College, so the lack of a big Division I commitment will likely allow him to be a relatively easy sign in the early rounds.

 

For any of you draft wizards out there, do these picks seem possible, and are any of these players too high or too low in the draft. thanks

[Chisoxfn]

First off welcome aboard. I'd say that all of those guys sound like we'd have a shot at them. I'm far from a draft expert though. I'm a big minor league fan, but don't know a ton about the draft picks.

 

From what I've read I'd like Gwynn in the second and Ritchie would be a great pick in the 3rd. I like any of those guys you have in the first or Anderson out of the University of Arizona.

 

I think that the Sox seem to be going for an outfielder, but I'd take Gwynn in the 2nd and go with a pitcher in the first. The lefty or rigthy sounded really good to me. If the lefty is a power pitcher nab him.