With the rise in the standings is the corresponding fall in draft position. In 2021, the Chicago White Sox own the 22nd pick in the first round. They haven’t had their first pick this low since drafting Jared Mitchell (shudder) with the 23rd pick in 2009. This is a rather dubious milestone as the player selected two spots later out of Millville Senior High School in New Jersey turned out to be a pretty good player. Will they pass up another Mike Trout or will they land someone of that caliber? Likely neither. So, let’s take a look back to see what the possibilities are.
Marcus Stroman
To find the first notable player taken in with the 22nd pick, you need to go back to the 2012 draft. If the White Sox can land a talent equal to Marcus Stroman, whom Toronto selected that year, it’d be considered a big win. The right-handed starter from Duke made a quick transition to the major league level. In 2014, he started 20 games for the Blue Jays, throwing 130 innings and putting up an ERA of 3.65 and a 1.17 WHIP. Those numbers are a good barometer for his career, as his aggregate numbers hover in that range. Over the course of his career, he amassed a 16.7 WAR.
Kolten Wong
The following season the Cardinals selected second basemen Kolten Wong out of Hawaii. Wong also paid dividends in a short time span. In 2013, He appeared in 32 games for St. Louis. The following season he finished third in rookie of the year voting and went on to win a gold glove in 2020. In nine years in the big leagues, he’s slashed .262/.333/.387 with an OPS of .720 and collected an 18.1 WAR.
Kyle Gibson
Another effective starting pitcher was taken with the 22nd pick of the 2009 draft. The Minnesota Twins drafted Kyle Gibson, who crossed the threshold to the major leagues in 2013. Gibson was an innings eater for the Twins. His career FIP is 4.30 with a WHIP of 1.394. At 33 years old, he’s currently having a solid year for the Texas Rangers, taking the ball every fifth day.
Aaron Thompson
Aaron Thompson was the choice of the then Florida Marlins in 2005. Thompson appeared in 52 games, primarily as a bullpen piece for the Twins. He left baseball after the 2015 season with 47.1 innings pitched and a -0.1 WAR.
Glen Perkins
Minnesota seems to have a stranglehold on the #22 slot, going with left-hander pitcher Glen Perkins in 2004. Perkins had a short stint in the minors, graduating to the big-league club in 2006. He was ineffective as a starter in 2008 and 2009 but found a home as a closer for the Twins saving 120 games between 2011 and 2017. He struck out 504 batters over the course of 624.1 innings with a career WAR of 8.9.
David Aardsma
David Aardsma is notable for spending a year each with the Cubs and White Sox in 2006 and 2007, respectively. The White Sox surrendered 2005 standout set-up man Neal Cotts in the transaction with the Northsiders. The fireballer was ineffective on both sides of the Windy City, with an ugly 1.732 WHIP on the Southside. He eventually found a home in Seattle in 2009 and 2010, where he saved 69 games across the two seasons. He ended his career in Atlanta at age 33, totaling 340 strikeouts in 337.1 innings pitched and a 1.8 WAR.
Jason Bulger
In 2001, the Arizona Diamondbacks drafted Jason Bulger out of Valdosta State. He became a career middle reliever with the Los Angeles Angels. The right-hander had a seven-year big league career with a FIP of 4.39 and a WHIP of 1.40. He recorded zero saves and only seven wins across his career but did manage to strike out 138 hitters in 133 innings.
Matt Ginter
Our own White Sox chose Matt Ginter with the 22nd pick of the 1999 draft. Ginter made it to the Southside the following season and worked three more years out of the bullpen. In his years with the team, he performed like a typical White Sox draft pick. His most significant accomplishment was being dealt to the Mets in March of 2004 for speedy reserve outfielder Timo Perez. Timo was a role player on the 2005 World Series Champion and gave us the unforgettable call by Hawk Harrelson “C’mon, Timo! C’mon, Timo!” Ginter ended his career with the Indians in 2008, having accumulated zero WAR.
Matt Thornton
Seattle grabbed another familiar name in 1998. Matt Thornton transformed himself into an effective flamethrowing setup man on the Southside. He came to the White Sox after two disappointing seasons in Seattle in exchange for Joe Borchard. The White Sox got the better end of that deal. A fixture in the late innings, Thornton appeared in 512 games over eight seasons on the Southside, saving 23 of them. He notched a FIP of 3.02 and a stellar WHIP of 1.196. He was moved to Boston in 2013 for Brandon Jacobs. In the latter stages of his career, he moved around frequently, eventually retiring at age 39 with San Diego.
Jayson Werth
Jayson Werth was selected straight out of high school by Baltimore in 1997. He made his MLB debut with Toronto in 2002 before moving on to the National League, where he finished in the Top 20 in MVP voting four times. His most successful seasons were with Philadelphia, slashing .282/.380/.506 with 95 home runs and a .885 OPS. This earned him a massive free agent contract with the Nationals in 2011. He played there for eight seasons posting slightly lower numbers compared to his years with the Phillies. He retired in 2017 at age 38 with 29.2 WAR and 229 career home runs.
Gil Meche
Gil Meche should be familiar to White Sox fans spending four years in the AL Central with Kansas City, earning an All-Star appearance in 2007. Prior to that, he played six years for the team that drafted him. With Seattle, he started 143 games, winning at a .556% clip. Though his win totals weren’t the same, he pitched better for the Royals posting a .419 FIP and 1.39 WHIP compared to 4.82 and 1.43 in the Pacific Northwest. In 10 years as a starting pitcher, Meche accounted for a 16.8 WAR.
There you have it. That’s roughly 25 years of the number 22 pick in the MLB draft. Anecdotally, the slot was heavy with high school players. This seems to be the point in the draft where teams are willing to roll the dice with a riskier high ceiling player. Will the White Sox follow suit? We’ll find out on July 11. Who knows? Maybe a Mike Trout type will still be out there.
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