The White Sox have signed high school pitcher Noah Schultz, their first-round selection in the 2022 First-Year Player Draft. The deal is worth $2.8 million, which is just over the pick slot value of $2,789,400. This was first reported by MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis.
Schultz, 18, was a Vanderbilt commit before coming to the White Sox. He is a local product from Oswego East High school, though he missed most of his senior year due to mono. When he came back healthy, however, he pitched for the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimps in the Prospect League and posted a 0.93 ERA over 19 1/3 innings, with 37 strikeouts and just eight hits allowed. Schultz’s selection this season continued a new trend for the White Sox, who have now selected prep players in the first round in each of the past two years after not drafting a first-round prep player since Courtney Hawkins and Keon Barnum in 2012.
MLB Pipeline ranked Schultz as their 49th overall draft prospect, though Prospects Live ranked him as high as 23rd overall. His calling card is his high velocity, as well as his high spin rate slider. The White Sox, per Callis, believe the 6’9 Schultz has top-of-the-rotation potential.
Per Jim Callis, this is what White Sox Director of Amateur Scouting Mike Shirley had to say about Shultz:
He was the target. How can he not be? We just didn’t know if we would get it across the finish line with what Noah wanted to do. He’s a supreme talent and had a lot of choices.
– Mike Shirley via Jim Callis of MLB.com
Up next for Noah, he and the other 19 White Sox selections will head to Birmingham for a draft minicamp. From there, he’ll be off to the team complex in Arizona to begin his journey within the organization.
For more information on the first-rounder, check out our write-up on Schultz from the draft last weekend!
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The second consecutive First-Year Player Draft that the White Sox opted for a high school player. Unlike last year, the organization stopped picking a prep player after the first round. The front office concentrated on pitching in this draft which makes sense. They are still looking for their next impact catcher to replace Yasmani Grandal whose contract expires following next season.