White Sox Reportedly Ink Top Draft Pick For Less Than Expected

With the MLB Draft in the rearview mirror, teams have until July 28^th to sign their draft class. With a little less than a week to go, signings are starting to trickle in across the league. After a very successful 2025 draft, all eyes are on the White Sox to ensure they sign all 20 of their picks.

While there has been some movement on the back half of the draft class, some of the White Sox top picks remain unsigned. There were recently reports that the White Sox were able to come to an agreement with second rounder Jayden Fauske, which is a nice development.

Today, the White Sox were able to agree to teams with the most important member of their draft class, as Jesse Rogers reports that the White Sox and the 10^th overall pick, Billy Carlson, were able to come to an agreement.

The good news continues for the White Sox as they're undefeated since the break. Today, their top pick in the draft, SS Billy Carlson, inked his deal with the team, signing for slot value at No. 10, about $6.2 mil. Carlson, who turns 19 in a week is from Corona, California.

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) July 22, 2025

This is key, as Carlson was one of the most touted prospects in the class. The fact that the White Sox were able to get him for slot value is even more impressive, as Carlson was ranked as the 7^th prospect on MLB Pipeline.

Typically prep players sign for more money than the slot value if they're taken around or lower than they're ranked, so this was a very nice move for the White Sox. This is also different from last year, as the White Sox signed Hagen Smith for more than slot value. This now allows the White Sox to use the money saved by not going overslot to entice other players in the class to sign.

The White Sox select Billy Carlson!

Hit: 50 Power: 50 Run: 55 Arm: 65 Field: 70 Overall: 55

The best prep fielder in this draft, Billy Carlson has the tools to be one of MLB’s best defensive shortstops in the future. Carlson has plus-plus hands with a great arm, which he’s… pic.twitter.com/elgFRDi0eh

— TheBaseballReport (@BaseballReport_) July 13, 2025

Viewed as one of the best defensive players in the draft, Carlson offers more than just the glove, as he had a solid offensive season for Corona High School.

According to Bleacher Report and Joel Reuter, Carlson hit .365 with an outstanding .517 OBP. He added 6 homeruns, 34 RBI, and 9 stolen bases. This is a very solid season for Carlson, as he could continue to improve with the bat as he progresses in his minor league career.

While it is unclear what the plan is for Carlson for this season, it is notable that 2024 second round pick Caleb Bonemer, also a prep shortstop, was assigned to the Arizona Complex league a few days after signing his contract, however he did not play any affiliated baseball until this year.

It could be a different case here, as Carlson was the 10^th overall selection, but neither top-11 prep selections in the 2024 draft made the jump to affiliated baseball that same season.

The White Sox have typically done a very good job at signing their draft picks, as they came to an agreement with 20 out of 21 of the players in the 2024 class, as the White Sox weren’t able to come to an agreement with 20^th rounder Myles Bailey, who was a highly ranked prep bat. The White Sox likely knew they weren’t going to be able to sign Bailey, but it was worth a shot with their 20^th round pick.

Bailey may have made the right choice, as he had an outstanding year as a freshman at Florida State. He hit .327 with a .441 OBP, adding 19 homeruns and 56 RBIs. He will likely be a first rounder in a few years, and now the front office has had communication with his camp, which could lead to the White Sox drafting him when he's eligible.

Expect more news to come in about some of the other White Sox top picks, as if they played in college last season there is a chance they make the jump to affiliated ball at some point this season.