The White Sox continued to focus on positions players early in the draft by taking Joey DeMichele, a second baseman from Arizona State, in the third round at 108 overall.
DeMichele is a bit undersized at 5-11, but hit at a big time college program. He led the Sun Devils with a .336 average and belted out 27 extra base hits, including seven triples and six home runs. He drew just 19 walks in 217 at-bats, but only struck out 31 times. The 21-year-old stole 12 bases in 16 attempts.
He has hit at every level so far (.368/.405/.562 last year) and could be a fast riser in the minors. Defense isn’t his strength, but he is noted as being a hard worker so he could stick at second. The Phoenix native is a junior that started two years for the Sun Devils, which weren’t eligible for the postseason.
The scouting report sounds similar to Tyler Saladino, who was a seventh round pick out of Oral Roberts in 2010, but Saladino had more walks and power in college than DeMichele. DeMichele doesn’t have the tools of the previous White Sox picks, but he produces and works hard so he probably does well in the low minors right away.