White Sox select RHRP Garrett Wright in the 20th round (No. 599 overall)

With the 599th and final White Sox pick in the 2023 MLB draft, the team selected right-handed reliever Garrett Wright out of TCU.

Wright served as the primary closer for the high-profile Horned Frogs team in 2022-23 seeing high leverage and earning 11 saves in his career in Fort Worth. He also brings some true explosiveness, with an off-the-charts 12.60 K/9 in his college career.

(If you avoid clicking embeds, you can still read our sister site’s profile on Wright.)

Now, on the flip side, that explosiveness comes with some control issues, as evidenced by Wright’s 6.17 BB/9 at TCU.

The White Sox clearly regard Horned Frogs relievers as some sort of untapped market, having selected three now in just the past three drafts. And while the White Sox may not have spent too many sleepless nights worrying over the 599th pick in the draft, they’ve seen enough in Wright to see something correctable that will push down free passes while keeping the Ks tight.

A year ago, I saw big-saves Texan Tristan Stivors as a possible fast mover in the org, and while he remains at Winston-Salem one year later, the same fast movement could hold for Wright. The right combination of a willingness to take the ball (peep the durability figure below) and possible quick tweaks to his delivery/approach could find Wright meeting and passing even the high-potential Stivors.

Garrett Wright’s Baseball Cube Talent Ratings

Durability 100
Strikeouts 97
vs. Power 83
Hittable 83
K/BB 46
Walks 11
Team Winning Pct. .683

2023 Chicago White Sox Draft Picks

First Round (No. 15 overall) Jacob González, SS (ranked No. 18 on MLB Pipeline)
Second Round (No. 51 overall) Grant Taylor, RHSP (ranked No. 102 on MLB Pipeline)
Third Round (No. 84 overall) Seth Keener, RHP (ranked No. 108 on MLB Pipeline)
Fourth Round (No. 116 overall) Calvin Harris, C (ranked No. 133 on MLB Pipeline)
Fifth Round (No. 152 overall) Christian Oppor, LHSP (ranked No. 225 on MLB Pipeline)
Sixth Round (No. 179 overall) Lucas Gordon, LHSP (not ranked)
Seventh Round (No. 209 overall) George Wolkow, OF (ranked No. 71 on MLB Pipeline)
Eighth Round (No. 239 overall) Eddie Park, CF (not ranked)
Ninth Round (No. 269 overall) Jake Peppers, RHP (ranked No. 187 on MLB Pipeline)
10th Round (No. 299 overall) Zach Franklin, RHP (not ranked)
11th Round (No. 329 overall) Rikuu Nishida, 2B (not ranked)
12th Round (No. 359 overall) Mathias LaCombe, RHP (not ranked)
13th Round (No. 389 overall) Ryan Galanie, 3B, (not ranked)
14th Round (No. 419 overall) Edrick Felix, 2B (not ranked)
15th Round (No. 449 overall) Carlton Perkins, RHP (not ranked)
16th Round (No. 479 overall) Weston Eberly, C (not ranked)
17th Round (No. 509 overall) Mikey Kane, IF (not ranked)
18th Round (No. 539 overall) Anthony Imhoff, LHP (not ranked)
19th Round (No. 569 overall) Caden Connor, OF (not ranked)
20th Round (No. 599 overall) Garrett Wright, RHRP (not ranked)