At No. 191 in the 2022 MLB draft, the White Sox selected RHSP Eric Adler out of Wake Forest.
The righthander from a football family comes in with some built-in Chicago toughness.
RHP Eric Adler (Wake Forest) to CWS in R6. Closer level stuff, showed plus mid to high 90s FB and double plus mid 80s "death slider" on the Cape. Mixes in avg. CUT. Command failed him at Wake in 2022, but there's still a high lev. guy under the surface.https://t.co/i9gvHTiFQW
— Will Hoefer (@whoeferbaseball) July 18, 2022
Adler comes in rated as prospect No. 242 on the MLB 2022 Prospect Ranks.
Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 60 | Cutter: 55 | Control: 35 | Overall: 40
Adler is a big arm guy with a great, if not overwhelming, fastball. His high spin rates also suggest absolutely stellar stuff. Plus, this continues a heavy spin-rate trend with this White Sox draft.
Unfortunately, mechanical issues in Adler’s delivery have led to him struggling over his college career to throw strikes consistently.
Even with the struggles with command, he was able to be decently effective as a reliever prior to 2022, which makes him a prime subject for Ethan Katz and his pitching lab.
If Adler can somehow gain the ability to find the strike zone more consistently, he certainly has the ability to miss bats and project as a high-leverage bullpen arm down the road.
Although Adler is unrelated to the institutional Chicago planetarium with which he shares a name, the White Sox certainly hope they can be seeing a star in the future.
2022 Chicago White Sox Draft Picks
First Round (No. 26 overall): Noah Schultz, LHSP (ranked No. 49 on MLB Pipeline)
Second Round (No. 62 overall): Peyton Pallette, RHSP (ranked No. 43 on MLB Pipeline)
Third Round (No. 101 overall): Jonathan Cannon, RHSP (ranked No. 60 on MLB Pipeline)
Fourth Round (No. 131 overall): Jordan Sprinkle, SS (ranked No. 140 on MLB Pipeline)
Fifth Round (No. 161 overall): Tyler Schweitzer, LHSP (ranked No. 210 on MLB Pipeline)
Sixth Round (No. 191 overall): Eric Adler, RHRP (ranked No. 242 on MLB Pipeline)
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