June 09--Vanderbilt right-hander Carson Fulmer had plenty to celebrate Monday after his team advanced to the College World Series and the White Sox selected him No. 8 overall in the draft.
He and his siblings decided to mark the occasion at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Champaign, Ill., watching the pitcher with whom he shares a hometown and hopes to one day share a rotation.
Fulmer said he caught Chris Sale's 14-strikeout performance against the Astros on TV on Monday night. Fulmer and Sale are both from Lakeland, Fla., though they have never met.
"Him being from Lakeland, I look up to him a great ton," Fulmer said. "I have so much respect for (the Sox pitchers), and it's some people I look up to and some people I want to be next to someday. I've been given this opportunity. I want to run with it. I'm anxious to meet the coaching staff, to learn from all of them and really pick the brains of those guys hopefully here soon."
Fulmer was the third college pitcher the Sox have drafted in the first round since 2010. The first two -- Sale and Carlos Rodon -- each reached the majors less than a year after being drafted, and Fulmer hopes he can also take a quick route.
"I'm just going to do what they tell me to do, but I definitely want to move quick," Fulmer said. "I want to get there to impact the team and help the team as much as possible. Obviously nothing's set in stone. I haven't really talked to the organization that much yet, but it's something that's in the back of my mind and something I want to do in the next couple of months."
Doug Laumann, Sox director of amateur scouting, said Fulmer could take a path similar to Sale and Rodon, who each started in the Sox bullpen before moving to the rotation, though the relief stint was quite short for Rodon due to team circumstances.
Fulmer, who was a reliever and a starter at Vanderbilt, views himself as a starter but said he will do what the Sox need him to do.
"I feel like I've built a really good endurance level," Fulmer said. "I feel like I've been able to keep my stuff late into games, and that was definitely something I had go out and pitch to prove. I know that throughout the years I've been labeled as a reliever. I view that as a challenge, something I definitely wanted to go out and prove."
Fulmer was speaking on a teleconference while he was on the return trip from Champaign after Vanderbilt won its Super Regional against Illinois on Monday. Vanderbilt was also celebrating two teammates who were also selected in the first round, shortstop Dansby Swanson (No. 1 by the Diamondbacks) and pitcher Walker Buehler (No. 24 by the Dodgers).
"I spent every day with those guys and being able to spend that time with them and my family (during the draft), it was definitely a surreal experience," Fulmer said, "and an experience I'll remember for the rest of my life."
Sale seemed intrigued Monday night by the Sox's selection of a top pitcher from his hometown.
"It's exciting," Sale said. "The day is exciting for them, but it's exciting for us because we know potentially we could get somebody that can make an impact on the club.
"It's crazy (to be drafted and still pitching for his college team). Hopefully he keeps his head screwed on and tries not to pay attention. He still has a job to do for his school and for himself, so we'll see him when we see him."
Draft continues: The Sox selected Clemson left-hander Zack Erwin with the No. 112 pick in the fourth round Tuesday. The 6-foot-5, 195-pound junior has gone 7-4 with a 3.04 ERA with 16 walks and 92 strikeouts over 106 2/3 innings pitched in 17 appearances -- and 16 starts -- this season.
They followed by selecting Rice right-hander Jordan Stephens, Oklahoma high school first baseman Corey Zangari and Simeon grad and Iowa right-hander Blake Hickman, who was part of the Sox's ACE program.
