UPDATE: In the second round with the 55th pick, the White Sox select Tyler Danish a right handed pitcher out of Durant HS in Florida. Danish seems like he is destined for the bullpen considering his funky windup mechanics would likely injure him if he put in 150+ innings of work a year. Plus, his stuff would be more beneficial in situations of leverage. Danish is committed to Florida and he can either accept the scholarship to play in college or forgo college to sign with the White Sox.
…Tim Anderson a shortstop from East Central Community College in Mississippi. Anderson is known to be, as most former White Sox draft picks, a premium athlete. And being that he plays shortstop, I am actually okay with that. Most scouting reports being thrown around about Anderson are also fairly positive and show that he is a five-tool player with an emphasis on his speed and power, which are a potent combination.
However, what concerns me about this pick is not the player who was chosen, but rather the position. The White Sox have a surplus of middle infielders it seems like with Carlos Sanchez, Angel Sanchez, Tyler Saldino, Gordon Beckham, and Alexei Ramirez. Though Angel Sanchez seems to have not panned out, and Gordon Beckham seems to be lacking the bat Sox fans thought he would bring, I thought this was one of the lesser problems that the Sox should have been addressing with their first selection. Third base, catcher, and pitching would have all been things I would rather have seen Rick Hahn go after than a middle infielder type.
This pick also speaks volumes about the direction the front office wants to go in the future, a direction that seems to be a la Adam Dunn. High risk, high reward. Anderson is compared to the likes of Billy Hamilton, Orlando Hudson, and Brandon Phillips. Hamilton seems like he may just be a stealing machine, Hudson had a mediocre career, and Brandon Phillips has done the best of the three. With such a wide range of comparisons and the fact that most scouts think he may not even stick it out at shortstop due to a lackluster arm, this pick does worry me. However, Rick Hahn and the front office get paid to do their job so hopefully they see something that the regular fan wouldn’t from perusing scouting reports and other articles about the guy. Here’s to the best for Tim Anderson and the new direction of the Chicago White Sox.
UPDATE: In the second round with the 55th pick, the White Sox select Tyler Danish a right handed pitcher out of Durant HS in Florida. Danish seems like he is destined for the bullpen considering his funky windup mechanics would likely injure him if he put in 150+ innings of work a year. Plus, his stuff would be more beneficial in situations of leverage. Danish is committed to Florida and he can either accept the scholarship to play in college or forgo college to sign with the White Sox.