2019 MLB Draft: White Sox pick Karan Patel in the seventh round (200th overall)

Karan Patel

University of Texas at San Antonio (San Antonio, Texas)
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 22
Bats Right
Throws Right

Rankings

Baseball America N/A
MLB N/A
FanGraphs N/A

Another college senior was selected by the White Sox in the seventh round. Karan Patel is out of UTSA, where he was mostly a starter for his four years. He has not been drafted before so this is quite the sleeper pick, and thus he will probably receive a bonus under his slot.

From 2016-18, Patel was half-starter and half-reliever. His first two seasons, were, well, not very good. His freshman year saw a 5.30 ERA with 44 walks in just 56 innings. The 2017 season was actually a bit worse, with a 7.28 ERA and 32 walks in 38 ¹⁄₃ innings. But batters were also able to hit .300 against him during that season as well. His junior year was the start of his rise to this selection by the White Sox. Though he was still a starter/reliever, he had a 3.96 ERA and the command was much better, with 63 ²⁄₃ innings pitched and just 29 walks. He had a career best .226 batting average against in 2018 too.

This season, where Patel earned his stripes, he had a 2.84 ERA and the best command of his amateur career. In 92 innings, he had only 36 walks and struck out 104 batters. Baseball America notes that those strikeouts predominantly came from his “fastball-curveball combo.” Though the batting average against was slightly up (.238), his overall stuff was much better, and is why he was chosen in Round 7. He also apparently has a cricket background.