Which is why amateur scouting director Nick Hostetler and others know they need to make the No. 3 pick count.
"I mentioned that to (Nick)," manager Rick Renteria said. "I said, 'I hope you are never selecting at the top moving forward.' That means we are progressing at the major league level."
Because the two draft picks appear set, the White Sox do have some clarity in their choice. The Orioles own the No. 1 pick, while the Royals hold the No. 2 pick. The Orioles are expected to draft Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman at No. 1 overall, while most believe the Royals will follow by selecting Colleyville (Texas) Heritage High shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. at No. 2.
Behind them, Blessed Trinity (Roswell, Georgia) Catholic High shortstop C.J. Abrams and California first baseman Andrew Vaughn are considered two of the best prospects. The 18-year-old Abrams has big upside in the minds of scouts and is from the same high school as former White Sox draft picks Tyler Flowers and Matt Skole. Vaughn is praised for his power hitting, and he was batting .387 with 15 homers, 49 RBIs and a 1.277 OPS entering play Saturday.
Vanderbilt outfielder J.J. Bleday is another projected high pick who has big power and could be on the White Sox's radar.
The White Sox plan to take the best prospect available, without consideration to their position.
"We are going to line up our board and take the highest guy still left on it," Hostetler said. "We have spent so much time on this -- literally from the last day of the draft last year until now. Rick (Hahn) and Kenny (Williams) both have spent a lot of time on this as well. So we are going to line up the board 1-2-3. If No. 1 is still there, that is who we are taking. If it's the third guy on our board, that is who we are picking."
Addressing positional needs will be a focus in the later rounds, Hostetler said.
"That type of picking will not come until the 10th round for us," Hostetler said. "We do that because at that point we think the talent is pretty close together. We will start to fill needs like pitching, which we always need more of. Those first 10 rounds, we will take the player we feel has the best talent with the best makeup."