The White Sox rank among the league’s worst in 2024 in several categories, including the most important one: wins. However, the White Sox’s rocky run could be attributed, in part, to big-name draft picks not working out for Chicago. Still, the Sox have found some gems over the years. Here’s a look at the White Sox’s best MLB Draft picks over the last decade, plus the most notable ones that didn’t work out.

Best White Sox Draft Picks Over Last 10 Seasons

Name	Position	Year Drafted	Round	Career bWAR
Carlos Rodon	P	2014	1	17.1
Tanner Banks	P	2014	18	1.0
Aaron Bummer	P	2014	19	3.7
Alex Call	OF	2016	3	1.6
Ian Hamilton	P	2016	11	1.3
Jake Burger	3B	2017	1	2.2
Nick Madrigal	2B	2018	1	3.0
Codi Heuer	P	2018	6	1.4
Garrett Crochet	P	2020	1	4.9

Despite five top-ten picks between 2014-2020, only one player among those names hit double digits in bWAR. That individual would be Carlos Rodon, who fell to Chicago at #3 in 2014 after being widely considered the top prospect in that MLB Draft heading into the year.

Rodon has dealt with his fair share of injuries throughout his career. Still, the lefty lived up to the hype. The now-New York Yankee developed into a two-time All-Star and led the Majors in FIP (2.25) and K/9 (12.0) in 2022.

Aside from Rodon, the White Sox found some gems in the 2010s. Relievers Tanner Banks. Aaron Bummer and Ian Hamilton were all players selected after the first ten rounds but went on to successful MLB careers.

The last name on this list is Garrett Crochet, a hard-throwing lefty who accumulated strikeouts in bunches with Tennessee but also had his fair share of command issues. Crochet quickly rose to the Majors, as the White Sox debuted him during the abbreviated 2020 campaign, just months after his selection, as a reliever.

It’s taken Crochet a while to get his footing at the MLB level thanks to injuries but 2024 has been a breakout campaign for the lefty. As of June 2024, no player selected in the first round had a higher bWAR (4.9) than Crochet. And out of all players taken in 2024, only Braves pitcher Spencer Strider has a higher bWAR (7.0).

Now, we move from the best White Sox draft picks to the worst.

Worst White Sox Draft Picks Over Last 10 Seasons

Name	Position	Year Drafted	Round	Career bWAR
Spencer Adams	P	2014	2	Never played in MLB
Carson Fulmer	P	2015	1	-0.7
Zack Collins	C	2016	1	-1.1
Zack Burdi	P	2016	2	-0.8
Alec Hanson	P	2016	3	Never played in MLB
Steele Walker	OF	2018	2	-0.2
Matt Thompson	P	2019	2	Never played in MLB
Andrew Dalquist	P	2019	3	Never played in MLB

The White Sox draft record has been interesting, in the sense that over the last decade, many of Chicago’s top draft picks haven’t worked out.

GM Rick Hahn stated in July 2015 that Carson Fulmer “has the talent and the makeup to potentially move quickly” up the White Sox farm system. He did that, as Fulmer made it to the bigs a year later. However, the former Vanderbilt star never settled as a starter and owns a career ERA of 5.83 in the MLB.

Chicago had two of the top 26 picks in the 2016 MLB Draft and handed out lavish bonuses to Zack Collins ($3,380,600) and Zack Burdi ($2,128,500). Collins played just 152 MLB games, while Burdi saw just 18 games of MLB action and owns an 8.44 ERA.

Two names that aren’t on this list are Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets.

Vaughn was selected third overall in 2019 and was considered a very polished collegiate bat. The White Sox first baseman has yet to have a breakout campaign as of 2024. Still, Vaughn is a solid Major Leaguer with a career OPS+ of 100 and a career bWAR of 0.9 (offensive bWAR of 3.6).

Sheets, meanwhile, was a 2017 second-round pick who posted a .599 OPS in 2023 and had his shortcomings in the outfield. The 28-year-old has somewhat of a renaissance in 2024. Sheets recorded a .750 OPS (113 OPS+) in his first 65 games of 2024.

These lists do not include players selected but did not sign. bWAR figures as of June 2024.