White Sox select left-handed pitcher Garrett Crochet in first round

Garrett Crochet

As expected, I had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned five players that the White Sox could draft with the No. 11 overall pick in Wednesday's MLB Draft.

The Sox, of course, selected none of those five players. They took left-handed pitcher Garrett Crochet out of the University of Tennessee.

I'm cool with taking a left-handed pitcher, even though Reid Detmers was my preference. Detmers was off the board when the Sox picked, however. He went No. 10 overall to the Los Angeles Angels.

When Crochet was chosen, the MLB Network guys compared him to Chris Sale. Um, OK.

I think there is some sort of rule that every player who gets picked in the first round has to be compared to someone who is a perennial All-Star, or somebody who is in the Hall of Fame. But I digress.

Crochet is a low-arm slot lefty with durability concerns. He's missed time in each of the past two seasons, with a broken jaw and then a sore shoulder. To be fair, the broken jaw came as a result of a line drive being hit right back at him, and what's a pitcher to do about that? That's just bad luck.

In any case, Crochet has the tools. His fastball sits at 96-100 mph, with the second-highest spin rate of any pitcher in the draft class. His slider is 70-grade, and it wipes out left-handed hitters. He's also got a changeup that he probably hasn't had to use much at Tennessee.

That actually sounds a little like Carlos Rodon when he came out of college. I'm not going to make the Sale comp, because Sale has three dominant pitches that he can throw for strikes in any count. Who has that? Not many people.

Crochet doesn't have great fastball command, and it's a pity he didn't get a chance to work on that this spring with the college baseball season being canceled.

Here's one way we might be able to draw a comparison between Crochet and Sale: Don't be surprised if Crochet comes to the big leagues quickly ... as a reliever. He's 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, and with his velocity and plus slider, he could probably pitch in certain situations out of the bullpen relatively quick. Given his arm angle and big body, he looks like a nightmare for lefty hitters.

Of course, with a first-round draft pick, you want more that just a situational pitcher. You want a cornerstone for your starting rotation. We'll see how the Sox plan to develop Crochet over the next year to 18 months.

5 players the White Sox could draft in the first round

The MLB Draft will be held Wednesday night, and the White Sox own the 11th overall selection. Who will they pick?

Under normal circumstances, you always say take the best player available, regardless of position, right? This isn't like the NFL or the NBA, where you're drafting for need and looking for immediate impact. In baseball, you figure even the best players available in the draft are a couple of seasons away from making a meaningful contribution, so it's folly to pick someone to address a need -- how can you guess what your needs will be two or three years from now?

Well, the Sox are in a unique situation. They have several young core position players under team control for the long term. Look at the roster, and you can find long-term solutions either already in place or on the way at first base, second base, shortstop, third base, left field and center field. The Sox also have an abundance of power right-handed starting pitchers.

You have to believe and hope that this core is still going to be around in two or three years, so the Sox might actually benefit from drafting for positions that don't have a long-term solution.

How about a young catcher? Yasmani Grandal is 31, and nobody really believes Zack Collins is the heir apparent anymore. How about a left-handed pitcher to complement the righties in the rotation? Maybe a left-handed bat? Aside from the switch-hitting Yoan Moncada, there aren't a lot of power sources from the left side in the lineup. Or, maybe the team needs to address its lack of middle infield depth.

With those things in mind, here are five guys the Sox could draft at No. 11 on Wednesday night:

1. Reid Detmers, LHP, Louisville: This 20-year-old pitcher is not overpowering, which is why he may slip down to the 11th spot in the draft, but he is widely considered the most polished college pitcher available. His fastball sits in the low 90s with good command. His curve is a plus pitch, and he's got a changeup too. He projects as a middle-of-the-rotation starter, and he could be a nice complement to a staff that is right-handed heavy.

2. Heston Kjerstad, OF, Arkansas: The Sox have two outfielders who are expected to be a part of the long-term plan in Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert. Both are right-handed bats. How about a left-handed bat to fill out the trio? Maybe Kjerstad can be that guy. He hit 37 home runs in 150 games at Arkansas. His college K rate (22%) is a little high, but the power that's needed to play a corner outfield spot is there.

3. Patrick Bailey, C, N.C. State: Grandal is under contract for three more years after this one, but there's nobody in the pipeline who looks like a candidate to replace him. So perhaps the switch-hitting Bailey is a fit. He's seen as a bat-first guy, but he's thought to be an adequate receiver with a good arm. Unlike Collins, the consensus seems to be that Bailey can stick at catcher as a professional.

4. Robert Hassell, OF, Independence (Tenn.) HS: The Sox have a long-standing reputation of playing it safe by taking college players, but if they want to gamble on a high school kid, they could do worse than Hassell. Some think he's the best high school hitter in this year's class, and if he's not, he's the second-best. Again, this is a left-handed hitter, something in short supply in the Sox's system. The hit tool is considered better than the power tool at this point, which you'd expect from an 18-year-old kid. Obviously, this would be a longer-term project.

5. Ed Howard, SS, Mount Carmel HS: Maybe the Sox take the local kid? Howard would be a longer-term project, but maybe he's ready for a shot about the time Tim Anderson reaches free agency. Howard projects as the best defensive shortstop in the draft. He's a plus athlete at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, and most scouts say he's got the bat speed to hit for power one day. This is not a player who is a candidate for a position change. He's a shortstop, and he's a South Sider. He might be a reach at 11, but he's a definite first-rounder.

Of course, now that I've offered this opinion, the Sox will select someone who I haven't mentioned.