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As you already know from the procession of posts over the last month, today is MLB draft day.
If you didn't know that, it's nobody's fault but your own. OK, maybe it's the fault of a pretty weak draft class. You're off the hook this year.
MLB Network and MLB.com will air the draft, with pre-event coverage starting at 5 p.m. Central, and the draft starting at 6 p.m. Since they have the eighth pick, the White Sox figure to make their selection on the earlier side of that hour.
If you haven't been paying attention, fear not! You'll find a chain of mock drafts, rankings, resources and news you can use, along with our very own podcast episode. As always, feel free to contribute your own findings throughout the day.
Latest mock drafts
Chicago sticks with what it does well—developing power arms. They saw Tate late and early, and would opt for him over Fulmer. There’s an outside chance they go for Missouri State’s Jon Harris here as well.
(The Twins take Tyler Jay at No. 6, and the Red Sox take Carson Fulmer at No. 7)
The White Sox also would take Tate if he got here, and I think Fulmer is in the mix, along with Jay and James Kaprielian, and maybe Missouri State pitcher Jon Harris.
Jim Callis, MLB.com: Jon Harris
The White Sox desperately want a college arm. If the consensus top three are gone, Chicago will turn to Harris.
Jonathan Mayo, MLB.com: Fulmer
The focus for the White Sox has always been arms, and they'd probably be thrilled if Jay got to them here. It's hard to ignore what Fulmer has done as Vandy's Friday night starter, however. If the White Sox can climb back into the American League Central race, Fulmer also has the chance to help out in a hurry out of the bullpen short-term.
Chicago appears to like Fulmer as the best pitcher in the draft; I do, too, so they’re in good company.
White Sox mock draft history
- Round 1: Pick a college pitcher
- Round 2: Jay's the favorite
- Round 3: Jay's gone, so maybe Fulmer?
- Round 4: Hey, Tate
- Round 5: Nah, it's probably Fulmer
South Side Sox draft profiles
The following pitchers were mentioned on more than one occasion during the mock draft process:
- Carson Fulmer, RHP, Vanderbilt
- Walker Buehler, RHP, Vanderbilt
- Dillon Tate, RHP, UC Santa Barbara
- Jon Harris, RHP, Missouri State
- Tyler Jay, LHP, Illinois
- James Kaprielian, RHP, UCLA
And while no non-pitchers were mentioned, here are capsules on 10 players worth thinking about, if only for your own draft considerations:
Draft resources
- MLB.com Draft Tracker
- FanGraphs sortable scouting board
- SB Nation's MLB draft coverage
- 2015 MLB draft order
- 2015 MLB draft slot values
- Baseball America's Top 500
- Minor League Ball's Top 400
- MLB.com's Top 200
- Kiley McDaniel's first-rounders
- Minor League Ball's MLB Bonus Baby
- MLB.com's Draft Buzz
South Side Sox Podcast
Doug Laumann joined us on today's show to talk about what he's expecting to see today, the types of pitchers in this year's draft, and more. The conversation starts around the 13:50 mark:
And as Josh noted, we will have a special edition of the South Side Sox podcast, broadcasting live from 6 to 7 p.m. Central to cover the first round. We will answer questions in the live chat and tweets while breaking down the selections. To listen visit mixlr.com/southsidesox.