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Last year, the White Sox selected Alec Hansen in the second round, after which he quickly became perhaps the most electric of the club’s 2016 draft picks.
That might set the bar a little bit high for Gavin Sheets. At the very least, the White Sox have pinned down the corners of a low-level affiliate by pairing first-round pick Jake Berger with the Wake Forest first baseman.
Sheets is a 6-foot-4-inch, 230-pound first baseman with left-handed power. The scouting reports from Baseball America and MLB.com describe a guy who has eliminated a couple concerns about his game over the course of three seasons with the Demon Deacons. He’s increased his power output while shoring up his plate discipline, culminating in a .317/.428/.626 line and 46 walks to 34 strikeouts over 230 at-bats in his junior year.
One of the remaining loose ends, according to MLB.com?
He has a pretty swing and impressive strength, though there are some concerns about whether he has the bat speed to do damage against big league fastballs.
Another one, per Keith Law?
[Sheets] hasn’t hit well on the road or against left-handed pitching, the latter perhaps because of a soft front side after contact.
It’s all about his bat because he’s a first baseman and that’s it. Hey, complain about the White Sox drafting athletes and this is what you get.
Nick Hostetler on Gavin Sheets pic.twitter.com/1ZTedi0ZNQ
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) June 13, 2017
Where did he rank?
- Baseball America: No. 65
- MLB.com: No. 60
- Keith Law: No. 68