The White Sox took Cole Prosek with the 41st overall pick, the first selection of the second round, and there was always going to be a real question about whether he'd sign or head to Oxford to play for Ole Miss. That question is answered now. According to Jim Callis, Prosek inked a deal worth $3.25 million, blowing past the $2,446,100 slot value attached to pick 41 by more than $800,000.
Jim Callis broke the signing news and laid out why scouts love the bat.
That kind of overslot number tells you everything about how the industry views the bat. Prosek batted .595 with 18 home runs and 79 RBI as a senior at Magnolia Heights High School in Senatobia, Mississippi, and was named the state's Gatorade Player of the Year. He also took MVP honors at the Perfect Game All-American Classic at Petco Park over the summer, the kind of showcase stage where prep prospects either cement their stock or watch it slide.
Callis pegs him for 20-25 home run power down the line, and that lines up with how other evaluators have talked about him — a lefty swing that's short to the ball and always seems to be on time, which is scout-speak for a hit tool that should translate against better velocity as he climbs the minors.
The defensive picture is the actual carrying question here, and it's a good one to have. Prosek has been a third baseman but also caught this spring, and Callis flags that catching path as something that adds real intrigue rather than just a fallback plan. Below-average speed and limited range likely rule out a future up the middle, but a bat this advanced buys plenty of time to figure out where the glove ends up — third base, behind the plate, or somewhere else entirely.
For a White Sox org still climbing out of a rough stretch, adding one of the state of Mississippi's best all-around prep hitters for well over slot is exactly the kind of aggressive, upside-chasing move a rebuild needs. Prosek was an Ole Miss commit with real leverage to go play college ball for a top SEC program — instead, the money did the talking, and Chicago walks away with a bat evaluators already rank among the best in this entire prep class.