White Sox Select Wes Kath in the Second Round (57th overall)

The White Sox stayed in the prep ranks by selecting Arizona prep third baseman Wes Kath in the second round of the MLB Draft.

He bats from the left side — just like first-round pick Colson Montgomery — and also has very good size at 6´3´´ and 200 pounds. The MLB Network broadcast called him an “old school” hitter because he doesn’t use batting gloves, while saying he makes a lot of hard contact and can hit for power. He “can really, really hit,” according to the broadcast. Kath is viewed as a first-round talent by many.

He hit 11 home runs as a senior, leading Desert Mountain High School to a Class 5A state championship. Kath was also named the Gatorade Arizona high school baseball Player of the Year.

At Desert Mountain High School, he played shortstop, but the Arizona State recruit projects as a third baseman in the professional ranks. The No. 57 draft slot is tagged with a $1.24 million bonus.

Here’s a preview of some of that power.

MLB Pipeline ranked him as the No. 34 prospect in this year’s draft. Here are the grades it issued for Kath:
Hit 55
Run 45
Field 50
Power 45
Arm 60
Overall 50

Kath slotted in at No. 27 on FanGraphs’ big board, which is actually ahead of Montgomery.

White Sox director of amateur scouting Mike Shirley was overjoyed to snag both prep infielder Colson Montgomery and Kath with the club’s first two picks: “The thing about these two playing together, growing up together, going through their careers together, it’s something that’s so exciting for us. We feel like we hit a home run with both of these guys together.”

It would seem, given the fact that the White Sox were debating whether to take Kath in the first round, the third baseman slipping to Chicago in the second round was too big an opportunity to pass on. It makes for a bit of an odd pairing at the top of the 2021 draft, but from a potential standpoint, it’s hard to argue against it.

Kath spoke with select Chicago media on Tuesday, expressing excitement over his selection.

“I follow the team a good amount on social media, because of the social media presence they have with Tim Anderson and other guys like that. But a lot of my friends are from Chicago, and they are White Sox fans, too ... It’s pretty cool to definitely get the chance to play with them.”

As for his own scouting report, Kath is succinct: “I would describe myself as a big contact and power hitter. I think my bat will carry my profile. But I also love playing third base and shortstop. That’s kind of it.”