With the 15th overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft, the Chicago White Sox selected Jacob Gonzalez out of the University of Mississippi. He checks two immediate needs in the White Sox system. A left-handed bat and power.
Gonzalez is a proven winner. He was named the national freshman of the year in 2021 after hitting .355 with a 1.005 OPS and helped guide Ole Miss to its first College World Series championship in 2022. The 6’2 200-pound shortstop has a smooth glove and the ability to hit for both power and average. He owns a career slash line of .319/.427/.561 with 40 home runs in 186 games. He had double-digit home run totals in each of his three seasons in Mississippi, with a career-high 18 in 2022. His 18 home runs were also the highest total in college that season. These numbers came in the SEC, one of the premier baseball conferences in the country.
During Ole Miss' championship run, Gonzalez came up large on the national stage. In Game 2 of the MCWS final, he hit a solo home run then later drove in a game-tying run in the eighth inning with a clutch single.
Despite a championship hangover in 2023, Gonzalez proved to be one of the Rebel's few bright spots. For the second consecutive season, he was nominated for the Brooks Wallace Award by the College Baseball Foundation. Nominations go to the 25 best shortstops in the country. Gonzalez was one of just four players to be selected two years in a row.
The U.S. collegiate national team named Gonzalez their starting shortstop the last two summers and some exert pegged him as the best shortstop available. However, he was the fourth shortstop off the board. Gonzalez admitted he thought the A’s were going to take him at No. 6 before they announced they were taking Jacob Wilson, a shortstop out of Grand Canyon University.
Not only does Gonalez hit for power but he walks more than he strikes out. He drew 123 walks in threes season compared to just 94 strikeouts. This type of plate disciple is something the White Sox desperately in their organization as the White Sox consistently ranks near the bottom half of the league in walks.
On a 20-80 scout grading scale, with 20 being terrible and 80 being the max, Gonzales is listed as a 55 overall. Scouts graded his hitting, power, and arm as a 55, his fielding at a 50, and his run grade as a 40. A shortstop with that low of a run grade is a bit concerning, but the bat-to-ball skills make up for it.
It's Getting Crowded At Shortstop
For the second time in three years, the White Sox have used their first-round pick to select a shortstop. In 2021 the front office opted to take Colson Montgomery, an athletic high schooler from Indiana.
Gonzalez was the best player available but doesn't fit one of the White Sox many pressing needs in the organization. It could be a sign of their plans at shortstop and doesn't inspire much confidence in Montgomery or Tim Anderson.
Montgomery has missed most of this season with a mid-back strain. But Montgomery is still young and there is plenty of time to teach him second base if Gonzalez emerges as the team's future shortstop or vice versa. Gonzalez's lack of speed would make him a candidate to move to third base, given his strong arm.
“You are trying to add good players to this organization,” Mike Shirley, the White Sox director of amateur scouting said. “These guys are so talented and can play in the middle of the field. It gives your roster flexibility. These guys have education and aptitude to fit in other positions if needed.”
The pick could also signal that the White Sox are willing to move off Tim Anderson soon. Anderson will be entering the final year of his contract, if the White Sox choose to pick up his $14 mullion club option for 2024. They almost certainly will, but his current play makes it hard to justify an extension. The 2019 batting champion and two-time All-Star has fallen off a cliff, batting .223/.259/.263 with no home runs this season.
If the White Sox were planning on paying him they likely don't draft a shortstop. Now they have two candidates that can replace Anderson in their farm system, with the ability to move one of them to second or third base.
Neither of those three players excelled defensively coming out of the draft, but Gonzalez, like Anderson and Montgomery before him believes he can stick at the position.
“I’m pretty average but I’m still getting better,” Gonzalez told MLB.com. “I look at Corey Seager and he’s been there his whole career. I feel like we are pretty similar. We are not the fastest guys in the world, but we are going to get a lot of balls and be athletic and make the plays look easy.”
Gonzalez has made strides defensively from the start of his collegiate career. He only made five errors last season and finished the season with a .971 fielding percentage, which was a career-high at Ole Miss.
Troubling Draft History
Getting an elite hitter at a premium position is always a plus but it is hard to trust the White Sox evaluation process given their track record. Just look at their last ten first-round picks:
Last Ten White Sox No. 1 Draft Picks:
- 2022 Noah Shultz
- 2021 Colson Montgomery
- 2020 Garrett Crochet
- 2019 Andrew Vaughn
- 2018 Nick Madrigal
- 2017 Jake Burger
- 2016 Zack Collins
- 2016 Zack Burdi
- 2016 Carson Fulmer
- 2014 Carlos Rodon
It should be noted most of these picks came inside of the top ten. Of the White Sox's last ten first-round selections one could argue that only three have made an impact on the MLB roster and all three of those players have dealt with significant injury problems.
The jury is still out on what Shultz and Montgomery can do, but given the White Sox spotty draft history, it’s hard to have confidence in the front office even though Gonzalez looks like a good pick on paper.
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