Sox, Cubs Snag First Round Draft Picks

Sox take pitcher at No. 3; Cubs take catcher/outfielder at No. 4

The Chicago White Sox and Cubs started loading up for the future at the Major League Baseball Draft Thursday.

The team's picked third and fourth respectively.

The Sox picked Carlos Rodon, a left-handed pitcher from North Carolina State. The junior is 6-3 and 235 pounds.

Rodon is widely regarded as the top college pitcher available in the draft and a potential staff ace, who had been mentioned since last year as a prime candidate to go No. 1 overall.

He followed up an incredibly dominant sophomore year (10-3, 2.99 ERA, 184 Ks and 45 BBs in 132 1-3 IP) with a solid but not spectacular junior campaign (6-7, 2.01, 117 Ks, 31 BBs in 98 2-3 IP.)

Rodon's fastball sits in the mid- to low-90s, but gets up to the 96-97 mph range, along with a devastating slider that sits in the mid-80s.

The Cubs picked catcher and outfield Kyle Schwarber, a 6-foot 230-pound junior out of Indiana University.

Schwarber was a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award as the best catcher in Division I college baseball and has a powerful bat from left side of plate, hitting .358 with 14 HRs and 48 RBIs and .659 slugging percentage while leading the Hoosiers to the NCAA tournament.

His stock rose drastically in the last few weeks as he hit .469 with four HRs and 12 RBIs in the Big Ten tournament and NCAA regionals.

He's solid behind the plate defensively, but could move to the outfield in the pros.

The Houston Astros picked up California high school pitcher Brady Aiken No. 1 in the draft.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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