Aaron Nola come on down!!

That first selection almost certainly will be a pitcher from the group of Brady Aiken, Tyler Kolek, Carlos Rodon and Aaron Nola. Any one of those players is a high-quality talent, meaning signability could become a small but still considered factor. The White Sox have a total pool of $9,509,700, with that No. 3 pick slotted at $5,721,500. The goal for the White Sox in this Draft is to reinforce the Minor League system, not just get one top-notch player. So selecting a player who could sign over slot with that first pick could affect other selections.

"Is it a consideration? Sure. We wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't explore signability both above our number as well as below our number," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn explained. "You've seen clubs go that opposite direction where perhaps they take a guy a little higher than expected and save a little on the bonus for that specific slot and reallocate it throughout the rest of the draft.

"It's certainly an interesting and sound strategy and one we need to discuss. But ultimately, I think it will come down to taking the player that we feel fits the best. We want to get the best guy available at No. 3, but we also want to have the healthiest draft through the entire bonus pool."

source: mlb.com

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

In a three player draft, you take the best player at 3 no matter the cost.

I'm willing to pass on some middle infielder in a later round in order to get my guy at 3.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

If they spend all their pool money how is that considered cheap?

What about a potential high school ace or everyday starting catcher with a high price tag in the 2nd round? This is a VERY deep draft. If the Sox decide to go Nola in the first then get a guy like Keaton McKinney, Mac Marshall or Chase Vallot in the 2nd round that would add more talent to the system. It's not just about drafting talent. It's about drafting talent at the right price.

This is the same strategy the Astros used in 2012 when they went "cheap" with Carlos Correa then were able to draft and sign high price tag guys like Lance McCullers and Rio Ruiz among others. That strategy worked out great for them.

Pick one of the three amazing arms. Don't fuck around trying to to talk a top 50 prospect out going to Wichita State.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Nola has climbed up the mock draft lists recently. MLB.com has him at #6 now.

If Aiken, Kolek, and Rodon are gone...I'd rather the Cubs go with Nola than Jackson or Gordon.

Because pitching...

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Who Dat?

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Nola is an excellent pitcher out of LSU. But he doesn't have the lightning arm. Low 90s guy. Excellent control. Likely a finished product.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

I'm mad that my team is considering all aspects of drafting players too!

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Nola has the highest floor of any pitcher in the draft. He has 3 above average pitches and can hit a gnat in the ass with all of them. He has a lot of Tim Hudson in him.

I just reviewed all the top 5 picks from 2000-2010. Now I'm jumping out of the window. It was nice knowing you guys.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

I agree 100000% with you on this. Nola is the most MLB ready pitcher in the draft. This draft is ridiculously deep...tons of high school arms will fall to the second round and you can then over pay for them by saving on Nola. The Sox under Han are in a rebuild on the fly mode and he lots better than eother Aiken or Kolek..if you pass on Rodon you also pass the Boras headache on to someone else. The only down to to a low floor guy is that he doesn't have the HIGH ceiling of some of the other three.



Don't jump....the MLB draft os far different the NBA or NFL draft...so different that only most drafted players never even get one AB or face one batter in MLB. Here are some numbers

Round 1 66% of the drafted players make the Show (now that includes guys like Josh Vitters and Brett Jackson of the Cubs both of whom have made it up to the bigs even for one AB.)

Round 2 49%
Rounds 3-5 32%
Rounds 6-10 20%
Rounds 11-20 11%
Rounds 21 to the end 7%

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I've seen Nola to the Cub in more than one mock.

I didn't add it up exactly, but of the 55 picks in that time I would say 10-12 had what you would call a "good" career.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

While I understand the strategy behind how they allocate their pool of money, I would find it highly questionable if the White Sox, drafting that high (which isn't often) pass on the highest rated player on their board.

The top 3 talents are thought to be the high cieling pitchers. If they don't take whichever one is left; eyebrows will be raised. Still, you can't judge any of these decisions until guys start to make the Majors, or bust. That makes the MLB draft different than the NBA or NFL.

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1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

I think the Sox will take one of the top three arms but if not I don't think eyebrows should be raised considering how deep this draft is and the fact that Carlos Rodon is represented by Scott Bora$.