Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
While it’s not quite yet the NFL Draft, or even the NBA Draft, the MLB Draft is beginning to gain a genuine interest from sports fans.
Another group of spectators that have also begun to actually care about the MLB Draft are the MLB teams themselves.
Obviously, it’s a complete overstatement to say all 30 MLB clubs used to care about the draft about as much as Alex Rodriguez cared about baseball’s banned substance policy. However, certain organizations in years passed haven’t valued the draft as much as other expenses, such as free agents and contract extensions.
The Chicago White Sox are the perfect example. For years, the White Sox spent the least amount of money on their draft picks, and instead either traded their top picks or used their cash on big name free agents. For example, one of the pieces in the White Sox deal for Adam Dunn was their 2011 first-round draft pick. As we all know, Dunn’s time on Chicago’s South Side hasn’t exactly gone as planned, and my guess is the White Sox wish they hadn’t given up a top pick for a guy who’s hitting below .160 this year.
Although new GM Rick Hahn and the White Sox front office can’t go back in time and und0 the Dunn deal, they can learn from their mistakes, which is exactly what they’ve done in this year’s draft.
Chicago has finally invested in their draft selections, taking players like SS Tim Anderson and RHP Tyler Danish, who have very high ceilings and will hopefully impact the Sox future within the next few years.
What was once known as arguably the weakest farm system in baseball is now turning into what seems like a pool of young talent for the White Sox, thanks to a change in draft day philosophy.
Matt Malecha is a Chicago White Sox writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattMalecha and add him to your network on Google.
