3 takeaways from the Chicago White Sox draft class, consisting of

The Chicago White Sox had position players on their mind early and frequently during the 2025 MLB draft.

6 of their first seven choices were position players. 3 were shortstops, starting with first-round pick Billy Carlson from Corona (Calif.) High School and third-round choice Kyle Lodise of Georgia Tech.

“Very thrilled about being disciplined with what we’re attempting to achieve– middle-of-the-field players,” Sox director of amateur scouting Mike Shirley stated Monday. “Guys that touch offensively things like contact, choices, some damage things in there. I truly liked just the baseball players that blend in with that team.

“More position-player-dominated than we’ve gone in the past, which we’re excited for because we are searching for some offense and we’re looking to continue to try to develop that out.”

In general, the Sox picked 9 pitchers (8 right-handers and one left-hander), four outfielders, five infielders and 2 catchers.

Here are three takeaways as the draft concluded Monday.

1. The trend of high school choices continued at the start of Day 2.

Crespi’s Landon Hodge is fired up as he leads off the game with a base struck against Harvard-Westlake on May 2, 2025.(Andy Holzman/for the Los Angeles Daily News )3 of the Sox’s very first four choices were high school players. That consisted of fourth-round pick Landon Hodge, a catcher from Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, Calif.”That fourth-round discussion was like 2 hours long today before we created that strategy to develop that out,” Shirley stated. “It ended up working truly beneficial for us. And we flip-flopped backward and forward. That group was that rich.

“So to land him took a lot. It was rich in there in terms of the discussion to get there. We’re excited about him, to have that guy. A chance to be another possibility behind the plate.”

Shirley called Hodge “very athletic.”

“The maturity of pitching as an entire throughout the landscape of the game, you think about what the catchers are able to touch now, they’re capturing more players now than ever previously,” Shirley stated. “They have high-end stuff even at the high school level. This guy is super athletic. It’s a plus arm.

“It’s kind of special due to the fact that you just generally do not get these guys at that cost point and (being) able to secure him in the fourth round was something we could not hand down.”

2. The Sox added some local taste in Jaden Fauske.

Nazareth’s Jaden Fauske reacts after striking a triple versus Crystal Lake South throughout a Class 3A state semifinal on June 10, 2022, in Joliet.

(Mike Mantucca/Daily Southtown) Jaden Fauske pointed to the summer season after his sophomore year of high school as a crucial period for his baseball development.” I recognized I can do this for a living and it’s what I wish to provide for a living,”

Fauske said throughout a video conference Monday. The Sox chose the outfielder in the second round Sunday at No. 44.

“The on-the-field makeup, how he goes about it, quite special,” Shirley said.

Fauske earned 2025 Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year honors after hitting.461 and taking 29 bases as a senior at Nazareth.

“The last year and a half I’ve talked about how I altered my body, truly simply taking the small things more seriously,” Fauske stated. “Regimen of the diet plan, getting better sleep, hydration, altering the method I went about my lifts, all of that. It’s certainly altered my game.”

Fauske, 18, grew up a Sox fan.

“He’s a local kid,” Shirley said. “I have actually stated all along, regional kids, (if) we feel they have the capability, the White Sox are going to be in there.

“This is our city, male. We believe in the people that live here. I’m excited to have another hometown kid.”

3. The Sox captured a couple of pitchers they had been going after for a while.

Oklahoma State pitcher Gabe Davis provides against Clemson on Feb. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.(AP Photo/Brandon Wade)While most of the emphasis early concentrated on position players, the Sox did select Oklahoma State right-hander Gabe Davis in the 5th round.

“Simply saw him in the Cape (Cod League) recently, the velocity’s returning,” Shirley said. “He kind of went through a bump in the road at Oklahoma State this year, was a premium guy for us heading into the season. Left to a fast start, bump in the road, took him a while to get ramped back up, back because rotation.

“Today, as the end of the season began to take place, where he’s at presently, we think it’s elite things. The changeup is truly excellent. We think there’s real benefit with him.”

The Sox were interested in right-handers Caedmon Parker of TCU and Nick Weyrich of Marshall for a very long time. And they drafted both Monday.

“Caedmon Parker is a guy from TCU who we’ve been chasing after permanently, back in his high school days,” Shirley said. “Able to secure him (in the 15th round). Simply a fantastic kid who’s constantly been a plus professional athlete with things. (Being) able to protect him late in the draft was interesting.

“We went after (Weyrich) in 2015. He selected to return to school. He’s a submarine guy that (senior consultant to pitching) Brian Bannister for 2 years has actually been trying to get his services. So (being) able to get him done today in the 19th (round) was a great choice.”

White Sox 2025 draft picks

• No. 10, 1st round: Billy Carlson, SS, Corona HS (Calif.)
• No. 44, 2nd round: Jaden Fauske, OF, Nazareth
• No. 76, 3rd round: Kyle Lodise, SS, Georgia Tech
• No. 106, 4th round: Landon Hodge, C, Crespi Carmelite HS (Calif.)
• No. 137, fifth round: Gabe Davis, RHP, Oklahoma State
• No. 166, 6th round: Colby Shelton, SS, Florida
• No. 196, 7th round: Anthony DePino, 3B, Rhode Island
• No. 226, 8th round: Blaine Wynk, RHP, Ohio State
• No. 256, 9th round: Riley Eikhoff, RHP, Coastal Carolina
• No. 286, 10th round: Daniel Wright, RHP, Iowa
• No. 316, 11th round: Matthew Boughton, SS, Covenant HS (Texas)
• No. 346, 12th round: Ely Brown, OF, Mercer
• No. 376, 13th round: Rylan Galvan, C, Texas
• No. 406, 14th round: Max Banks, RHP, Washington
• No. 436, 15th round: Caedmon Parker, RHP, TCU
• No. 466, 16th round: Kaleb Freeman, OF, Georgia State
• No. 496, 17th round: Derek Cerda, OF, Kansas
• No. 526, 18th round: Landen Payne, RHP, Southern Mississippi
• No. 556, 19th round: Nick Weyrich, RHP, Marshall
• No. 586, 20th round: Andrew Sentlinger, LHP, Virginia Tech

Initially Published: July 15, 2025 at 6:00 AM CDT