The White Sox selected high school right-hander Jared Kelley with their second-round draft pick Thursday, and took right-hander Adisyn Coffey of Wabash Valley in the third round.
At first glance, Kelley, taken with the 47th pick overall, looks like something of a steal near the middle of the second round — he was MLB Pipeline’s 12th ranked prospect in the draft. The Refugio (Texas) graduate is committed to the University of Texas.
Featuring a mid-to-upper 90s fastball that touched 99 mph, the 6-3, 215-pounder opened the season as the top-ranked high school pitcher in the nation but was limited to 12 innings because of the Coronavirus outbreak. Of the 36 outs he recorded, 34 were strikeouts.
Kelley finished high school with a 32-3 record and 0.43 ERA.
“This kid throws in the high 90s like he’s playing catch, and that changeup comes out of the same slot and is a devastating pitch,” MLB Network’s Dan O’Dowd said. “He will have to come up with a functional, quality slider to hit his ceiling but he throws strikes and he’s physically already put together.”
Baseball America called Kelley “a man among boys in the high school class” and identified him as “the most MLB-ready prep pitcher thanks to his current stuff and physicality.”
The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked Kelley No. 31.
Kelley was all smiles wearing a White Sox cap in a video posted on Twitter by the Sox in which general manager Rick Hahn and scouting director Mike Shirley congratuled Kelley “and welcome you to the White Sox family.”
“We could not be any happier we were able to get you today and add you to something special we’ve been building here,” Hahn said.
“You’re a big part of our future and we’re lucky to have you in our family,” Shirley said.
“Thank y’all for giving me the opportunity,” Kelley said. “I can’t even say anything right now, I’m just ready to get out there and just make the best of it and get to the big leagues as fast as possible. That’s the end goal, get to the big leagues and help the organization out.”
Hahn complimented Kelley for his makeup and character. Kelley was expecting to get picked in the first round Wednesday.
“Yesterday was kind of like, ‘Man, what’s going on,” Kelley said. “But we all stayed positive. You never know what can happen was my mindset. Coming in the second round I knew I had to stick with it and it just took one team, that’s all it took. I’m just going to make the best of this opportunity and pay you guys back. That’s all I can do. I’m ready to get out there and prove it.”
The Sox drafted Tennessee left-hander Garrett Crochet with the 11th overall pick Wednesday. Coffey is their third pitcher taken in three rounds. A red-shirt sophomore with 93-96 mph velocity, Coffey was a surprise pick — he’s not ranked in Baseball America’s top 500.
The second, third, fourth and fifth rounds Thursday will complete the draft.
Earlier in the second round, the Royals selected De La Salle right-hander Ben Hernandez, whose changeup was rated as the best in the draft. De La Salle is located less than a mile from Guaranteed Rate Field.
