MLB Draft Recap: Meet the Late Round Guys

By now, you’ve likely familiarized yourself with Zack Collins. You also may have read up on Zack Burdi and maybe even Alec Hansen. And if you’re really paying attention, you may even know about Alex Call, Jameson Fisher, Max Dutto and Zach Remillard.

But the MLB Draft is, for some reason, 40 rounds long. Did you know that a few years ago it was 50 rounds? And even further back, it was 74 rounds. Mike Piazza was drafted in the 62nd round. The White Sox got Mark Buehrle in the 38th round and Mark Buehrle was awesome. You probably knew that already. You’re smart. But how much do you know about the late round draft picks of the White Sox in 2016? Not much, I bet.

That’s where I come in. I put on my investigative journalism hat — it’s a really cool hat, with a feather in it and everything — and typed the names of every player the White Sox drafted in Rounds 11-40 into Google to find out everything I could. Turns out, that wasn’t very exciting. There’s not much information out there. So little, in fact, that the photo at the top of this article is just a boring file image of Rick Hahn because I couldn’t find one I could use of any of these guys.

There’s good reason for this. It’s not like these players were drafted late by accident. Either they’re easy signs who will be used as organizational depth, or they’re younger and unlikely to sign, opting to go to college if they’re a high schooler or stay in college if they’re an underclassmen with hopes to improve their draft stock for another year.

Nonetheless, I decided to spice things up a bit. It’s up to you to figure out which of the following facts is real and which is not.

Round 11 (326) — Ian Hamilton, RHP, Washington State University

• Entered the season as a Top 100 draft prospect by Baseball America
• Transitioned from relief to starting in 2016 and faired poorly
• Had a 4.86 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 87 innings as a junior
• Definitely the most intriguing prospect on this list
• Baseball Prospectus’ Chris Crawford sees him as a potential steal
• A descendant of that guy they wrote that musical about

Round 12 (356) — Mitchell Roman, SS, Wright State University

• Had a .401 on-base percentage for Wright State
• 26-of-29 on stolen bases
• Knows all the lyrics to “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel

Round 13 (386) — Michael Hickman, C, Chipola College

• Batted .345 with 10 home runs as a freshman at Chipola
• Drafted in the 36th round by the White Sox a year ago
• Celebrity dream date is Tina Belcher

Round 14 (416) — Bryan Saucedo, RHP, Davenport University

• One of four players drafted from NAIA school Davenport
• Davenport had never had a player drafted prior to this season
• That’s pretty crazy

Round 15 (446) — Jake Elliott, RHP, Oklahoma

• Had a 6.02 ERA in 46.1 IP as a junior
• Grandfather played in the Cincinnati Reds’ farm system
• Grew up on a farm and had a pet goat named Albert

Round 16 (476) — Ben Wright, RHP, UNLV

• Was the Rebels’ closer in 2016, accumulating 11 saves
• Oh, he also had a 5.49 ERA
• From Utah
• Blackjack dealer on the weekends

Round 17 (506) — Brad Haymes, RHP, Gardner-Webb University

• Threw 110.2 IP as a junior; that’s a lot
• 115 strikeouts against just 16 walks in those innings
• Twitter handle is @HollywoodHaymes
• Grew up down the street from the “Full House” house

Round 18 (536) — Lane Hobbs, RHP, Concordia University (TX)

• Struck out 91 batters in 81 IP as a junior with a 1.44 ERA
• Is 6-foot-5, 235 lbs, so you’re legally allowed to call him a Big Texan
• Has the most Texas name ever

Round 19 (566) — Anthony Villa, 1B, Saint Mary’s College

• 12 career home runs in four years of college
• 69 hits during his junior season
• Father was a quarterback who signed with the San Francisco 49ers in 1985
• Best friends with actor Michael B. Jordan

Round 20 (596) — Matt Foster, RHP, University of Alabama

• A junior college transfer who has played one year with the Tide
• Threw 40 innings in relief his junior season, striking out 49 and walking 16
• Did not allow a home run all season
• Will probably get drafted into the NFL, despite not playing football collegiately

Round 21 (626) — Michael Horejsei, LHP, Ohio State University

• Pitched solely in relief during his Buckeyes career
• Struck out 62 batters in 58 career innings
• Gave up only three home runs during his collegiate career
• Can contour his tongue in that weird way people always brag about

Round 22 (656) — Joel Booker, University of Iowa

• First team All-Big Ten as a senior
• 23-of-25 in stolen base attempts
• Has beaten Tony Hawk Pro Skater for Nintendo 64 at least a dozen times

Round 23 (686) — Sam Dexter, SS, University of Southern Maine

• D3baseball.com’s national player of the year as a junior
• Hit .404/.474/.652 during his senior season
• Struck out 58 times in 806 career at-bats, including just 11 times as a senior
• Nationally-ranked Pokemon player as a child

Round 24 (716) — Brady Conlan, 3B, Cal State Dominguez Hills

• Played for the Philippines National Team in the World Baseball Classic Qualifier
• Finished second in his conference in batting average at .413
• Favorite team is the New York Mets
• Would like to meet The Rock one day
• Has an overly active sense of smell

Round 25 (746) — Charlie Madden, C, Mercer University

• College teammate of first-round pick Kyle Lewis
• Threw out 24 percent of potential base stealers during his junior season
• Favorite athlete is Josh Hamilton
• Favorite team is the Atlanta Braves
• That last one seems like a joke, but it’s not

Round 26 (776) — Zach Farrar, OF, Carroll HS (TX)

• Highly-recruited high school wide receiver signed to play football at Oklahoma, where he told the Dallas Morning News he plans to remain
• Probably a good decision

Round 27 (806) — Mike Morrison, RHP, Coastal Carolina University

• Closer for the Chanticleers
• First team All-American
• Pre-game superstition is gargling hot sauce

Round 28 (836) — Aaron Schnurbusch, OF, University of Pittsburgh

• Uncle was a minor leaguer in the Cincinnati Reds farm system
• Hit a home run at Busch Stadium as a high schooler
• Favorite song is “Summer Girls” by LFO

Round 29 (866) — Earl Henderson, 1B, Central Arizona College

• Real first name is Caleb. No idea why he goes by Earl
• Hit .406/.493/.667 at this college I’m hearing about for the first time
• Committed to play at New Mexico State University next season
• Favorite TV show is “My Name is Earl.” Ah, that explains it.

Round 30 (896) — Pat Cashman, RHP, Southeastern Louisiana University

• Born in Itasca, Ill., and went to Plainfield North High School
• Went 4-4 with a 5.26 ERA, 52 strikeouts and 15 walks in 51.1 IP his senior season
• Juggled chainsaws in a traveling circus during his youth

Round 31 (926) — Brandon Bossard, SS, Nazareth Academy (IL)

• Son of White Sox groundskeeper Roger Bossard
• Committed to play at Heartland Community College in Normal, Ill.
• Nickname is “The Sodson”

Round 32 (956) — Sean Renzi, RHIP, Central Michigan University

• Originally from Plainfield, Ill.
• Went 5-7 with a 4.70 ERA in 19 appearances (11 starts) during his senior season, striking out 75 and walking 49
• Favorite player growing up was Kerry Wood
• Competed in the Lumberjack World Championships, finishing fifth in the Springboard Chop

Round 33 (986) — Ryan Boelter, LHP, Gardner-Webb University

• Originally from South St. Paul, Minn.
• Lowered his ERA from 6.59 down to 3.25 ERA from his sophomore to junior seasons
• Has skipped a rock upwards of 20 times across a lake

Round 34 (1,016) — Jaxon Shirley, 2B, Frankton-Lapel HS (IN)

• Hit .443 with five home runs during his senior season
• Committed to play collegiately at Indiana
• Favorite player of BP South Side editor James Fegan

Round 35 (1,046) — Garrett Acton, RHP, Lemont HS (IL)

• Signed to play collegiately at Saint Louis
• Fastball supposedly tops out at 93 mph
• Won a high school state title this season
• Can walk in a handstand for up to one mile

Round 36 (1,076) — Reese Cooley, CF, Chipola College

• Favorite food is Mac and cheese
• Favorite musician is Lil Wayne
• Favorite team is the Los Angeles Dodgers
• Does a mean Steve Urkel impression

Round 37 (1,106) — Leo Kaplan, OF, Harvard-Westlake HS (CA)

• Signed to play collegiately at Northwestern
• Hit .345/.398/.464 during his high school career
• Apparently runs or at least writes for a website called HoopsAnalysis.com
• That last one is interesting enough that I don’t need a joke one

Round 38 (1,136) — Tyler Gordon, C, Simeon Career Academy (IL)

• Local kid and graduate of White Sox ACE program
• Signed to play collegiately at Prairie View A&M
• Favorite player is Bryce Harper
• Favorite team is the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
• Can fit 26 marshmallows in his mouth at once

Round 39 (1,166) — Justin Lavey, SS, Tremper HS (WI)

• Had a 1.268 OPS as a high school senior
• Played his high school ball in the same town as first-round pick Gavin Lux
• Favorite player is Mike Trout
• Favorite team is the Milwaukee Brewers
• Takes his coffee with six creamers and 12 sugars; has a thing about divisibility

Round 40 (1.196) — Drew Puglielli, 3B, Gulf Coast HS (FL)

• Played infield, outfield, and pitcher for his high school team
• Originally from Frisco, Texas
• That’s it. I can’t find anything else

Lead Photo Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports