'Pivotal' draft upcoming for White Sox

For team building, the Major League Draft is a big deal.

For the 26-66 White Sox, who have the No. 5 selection Sunday, it’s a really big deal.

“Pick five is the most important piece,” Sox director of amateur scouting Mike Shirley said Tuesday. “You’ve got to get the first one right. It’s a pivotal moment for the organization. You guys all know where we’re at.”

Shirley said everyone from security guards at the ballpark to manager Pedro Grifol to chairman Jerry Reinsdorf has reminded him how important the selection is.

“We all know how pivotal this is to get this right,” Shirley said.

College bats abound in this draft, and the Sox need position players in a system that has some depth on the pitching side, but draft expert Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline projects the Sox to take high school shortstop/outfielder Konnor Griffin of Flowood, Miss., with their top selection.

Callis and other draft gurus all admit to some guessing as much as projecting, but they know Shirley’s leanings to high school talent and know he took top shortstop prospect Colson Montgomery 22^nd overall out of high school in 2021. Montgomery is at Triple-A Charlotte, a short step from the majors.

“Even if we chose to go the high school route, you anticipate those guys being here in 3, 3 ½ years,” Shirley said. “It’s not as long as it used to be.

“You get a high school player and you want him to move fast. … these guys can come quickly. I love high school players. They can get here quicker today because of all the development training that goes on at younger ages, they are more development than they used to be.”

Pipeline ranks Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana No. 1 and going to the Guardians. Outfielder/third baseman Charlie Condon of Georgia, first baseman/left-handed pitcher Jac Cagliane of Florida, West Virginia middle infielder JJ Wetherholt and Arkansas lefty pitcher Hagen Smith round out Pipeline’s top five.

Rankings vary, and who takes whom is far from cut and dried days before Sunday’s event. Shirley said there are “12 to 15 really good players” with a falloff after that.

“There’s a good blend of high school players in this group, a good blend of college position players and most importantly, still two college pitchers involved in the process,” Shirley said. “We still have no view of who even may get to five at this point, so we’re working hard, multiple directions. But we understand what five means to us.”

General manager Chris Getz, overseeing the Sox’ second rebuild in the last eight years, has replenished the farm system with prospects through trades, and he knows the draft is an essential part of the effort.

“Chris wants to get this organization right,” said Shirley, in his fifth season on the job. “He’s investing so much into the process of building an organization that you don’t all get to see every day. That’s in scouting, that’s in development, that’s in our Latin operations. He’s taking the broad spectrum of being a general manager and investing in the totality of the organization. He’s fully invested in the draft.

“He’s investing in all these departments with his time, effort and energy to build this place from the ground up.”

Under Shirley, the Sox drafted All-Star lefty Garrett Crochet, Montgomery (Pipeline’s No. 16 prospect), left-hander Noah Schultz (No. 18) and shortstop Jacob Gonzalez, the Sox’ seventh-ranked prospect.

He wants to keep a pretty good run going.

“It’s pivotal,” he said. “We all feel good with what’s happening in the minor leagues. To add this of what [the fifth pick] could possibly be to the next wave is, it’s substantial. It’s a must. I understand where we are at.”