White Sox select LHSP Noah Schultz in first round (No. 26 overall)

It took three hours, but the White Sox finally got to select a player in the 2022 MLB draft, adding LHSP Noah Schultz from suburban Oswego East H.S. with the No. 26 overall pick.

Schultz had committed to Vanderbilt University this fall, but a $2,789,400 first-round slot bonus and opportunity with the hometown White Sox proved to be rather enticing. (Anyway, it was extremely unlikely the White Sox would have committed so aggressively — Schultz was No. 49 on the MLB.com draft board — to a prep pitcher if they did not have a strong indication he would sign.)

Thus, it appears to be a done deal already:

Schultz is 6´9´´and had a massive uptick in velocity this spring, to 98 mph, and his true out pitch for the moment is a big change-of-pace slider. However, he did not pitch much due to a case of mono, which saw MLB drop him from as high as a mid-first round projection down to a second round estimate.

MLB Network

On the MLB Network broadcast, Schultz was considered a “spin rate freak” and it took about 15 seconds for the analyst panel to issue a Chris Sale comp.

As illustrated in the Area Code games lead photo, Schultz is a local product, playing for the Cangelosi Sparks, founded by former White Sox draft pick and player, and current suburban hitting instructor, John Cangelosi.