Despite being one of the worst teams in major league history last season, the White Sox will have the 10th pick in this year’s draft. However, unlike other league's drafts, the first pick and round are much more of a crapshoot, although it would be nice to pick higher to ensure you get the player you want.
The White Sox will have plenty of options with the 10th pick, as there will be some solid players to pick from. With roughly one month until the draft, no pick is set in stone, as there haven’t been too many rumors as to who the Sox are eyeing.
We will start to take a look at some of the options that could be available at 10 for the White Sox, as there are a few different directions they could go in. In most mock drafts, the top 10 is filled with prep shortstops, college infielders, and college arms. While the weakest part of the White Sox farm system is outfielders that can hit, the best practice is to go best player available instead of need. Let’s take a look at one of the players that could be on the White Sox radar at 10, Tennessee infielder, Gavin Kilen.
Kilen is currently ranked as the 17th best draft prospect on MLB Pipeline, but he checks all the boxes that Chris Getz has been looking for when adding a player to his team: high contact rates, high OBP, and lower strikeout rates.
On top of that, Kilen had a fantastic season for the Volunteers, and could be another in the long list of Tennessee first round draft picks. In 53 games, Kilen hit .357 with a .441 OBP and an insane 1.112 OPS.
He added 15 homeruns, 46 RBIs, and six stolen bases. If that wasn’t impressive enough, he walked 30 times to just 27 strikeouts, which is great to see a hitter do at the college level.
This fantastic season comes off the heels of a transfer from Louisville, where he appeared in 54 games. He hit .330 with a .361 OBP and a .925 OPS. That same season he added nine homeruns, 41 RBIs, and one stolen base. In 2024 he only walked seven times compared to 22 strikeouts, so there was a stark improvement on how he was seeing the ball.
Gavin Kilen 2025 College Baseball Highlights! | Tennessee Volunteers pic.twitter.com/Ksy42AAtp3
— Baseball is Everything (@ReportOnSports) June 17, 2025
It is very impressive to see Kilen take a huge jump on walks from one season to the next, as that shows maturity beyond his years for a hitter. In both years the strikeouts were very low, so that is encouraging to see, as he is consistently putting the ball in play.
While the White Sox are in desperate need of an elite outfield prospect to pair with Braden Montgomery, the White Sox may not be able to resist passing on Kilen, as he fits exactly what Chris Getz wants to do.
Additionally, if he is viewed as the 17th ranked prospect, the White Sox can sign him under slot while still getting a player that fits their system. This would leave more money for the White Sox to get creative with prep players in the other rounds, which could help them land another first round talent later in the draft.
While Kilen may not have the ceiling of some of the other players in this draft, he certainly has one of the higher floors and would be a fantastic addition to the White Sox farm system.
