The White Sox have been tied to college arms exclusively during the run-up to the 2015 MLB draft on Monday, and with this profile, we now have taken a look at every pitcher connected the Sox over the last few weeks, whether Plan A or Plan F.
Who is James Kaprielian?
Kaprielian is a 6-foot-4-inch, 200-pound right-handed pitcher who has had a successful collegiate career, pitching well out of the UCLA bullpen as a freshman, making a successful jump to the rotation as a sophomore, and improving in his junior year, albeit with a heavy heart. He's 10-4 with a 2.03 ERA and 114 strikeouts to 33 walks over 106⅔ innings in 2015, all of which are improvements over his 2014 line.
How does he rank?
- Baseball America: No. 19
- Keith Law: No. 27
- FanGraphs: No. 36
- MLB.com: No.22
What's his game?
Kaprielian is inconsistently ranked because his stuff is inconsistent. When he's on, he works around 93 mph (and touches 95) with his fastball, and when he's ahead, he can get swings and misses with this draft class' best curveball. When he's off, his fastball flattens out at 90-91 and the breaking ball isn't nearly as remarkable. The good version of Kaprielian has a changeup that's already solid-average, and his frame could support a little more strength to keep his velocity up.
What does he look like?
Why would the White Sox draft him?
Throughout the mock draft process, Kaprielian has been lumped in with alternate candidates if the draft's best college arms -- Carson Fulmer, Dillon Tate and Tyler Jay -- are all snapped up before No. 8. Kaprielian has a size advantage over Walker Buehler, and he has a more defined out pitch than Jon Harris.
Why would the White Sox draft somebody else?
Aside from liking the stuff from the Fulmer-Tate-Jay troika better, his fastball might be the least impressive of the bunch, which would limit his upside if they don't think he's a great candidate to gain a couple of ticks.
Where is he going in mock drafts?
- Baseball America: No. 13 (Rays)
- Law: No. 20 (Athletics)
- MLB.com: No. 16 (Yankees)
- FanGraphs: No. 19 (Pirates)