Tracking the 2018 MLB Draft: Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox are viewed as having one of the best farm systems in Major League Baseball. In the 2018 draft, they added four names to their list of Top 30 Prospects.

With names like Eloy Jimenez and Michael Kopech garnering extreme attention this year, it remains to be seen which White Sox prospects will be hyped up in the coming years.

Perhaps it’s one of the players listed below. Here’s a look at this year’s selections that joined the White Sox’s Top 30, according to MLB Pipeline.

No. 4 Nick Madrigal (2B/SS)

• 1st Round; 4th overall — Oregon St

No. 12 Steele Walker (OF)

• 2nd Round; 46th overall — Oklahoma

No. 18 Konnor Pilkington (LHP)

• 3rd Round; 81st overall — Mississippi St

No. 29 Jonathan Stiever (RHP)

• 5th Round; 138th overall — Indiana

Notes:

Many scouts consider Madrigal to be the best pure hitter in the 2018 class. He didn’t disappoint in his first taste of professional ball. In 43 games, he posted a .303 batting average while striking out just five times.

Think about that for a second.

Given that trend, if Madrigal were to play a full 162 game season, he would strikeout only 18 times. Obviously that’s not a fair comparison given the difference in the level of competition, but, of the 2,824 hitters in the minors last year that made at least 150 plate appearances, Madrigal was far-and-away the hardest to strikeout. In fact, he had five fewer whiffs than the next guy on the list.

Walker, on the other hand, struggled through three levels in his first year. In his 31 South Atlantic League games, he reached base at a .246 clip. Viewed as the type of player that can spray the ball to all fields, you’d like to see the OBP increase substantially in year two.

See how other teams’ prospects stack up here.