Is vaughn first in line?
SOX’ TOP PICK this year has chance TO EVENTUALLY REPLACE ABREU
While White Sox first-round draft pick Andrew Vaughn gets acclimated to minor-league baseball, he’s also paying attention to the up-and-coming prospects he hopes to play with one day on the South Side.
“Luis Robert getting called up to [Class] Triple-A, hitting two homers in his first game, that’s a really good sign,” Vaughn said this week by phone from Kannapolis, North Carolina, home of the Sox’ low Class A affiliate.
If Robert is watching Vaughn, he’ll know that he was batting .333 in his first 11 games at Kannapolis with a homer and walk-off single. And in three “get your feet wet” games in the Arizona League before that, Vaughn went 9-for-15 with a home run, two doubles and four RBI.
Vaughn, the third overall pick in this year’s draft, is probably two years away from joining the Sox. And for purposes of speculation, that seems to make sense. First baseman Jose Abreu’s contract is up after this season. Should the Sox sign the 32-year-old three-time All-Star to a two- or three-year extension, the timing might be perfect for Vaughn to be the heir apparent at first base.
“That would be beautiful,” Vaughn said. “I just want to do anything I can to get there and
help the team win. Talking with [Sox scouting director] Nick Hostetler, it’s a rebuilding period with the Sox. I just hope I can be part of that.”
The Sox are counting on that. Vaughn was the first primary first baseman since Eric Hosmer in 2008 and the first right-handed-hitting first baseman since Dave McCarty in 1991 taken in the top five.
But he knows he’s not a can’t-miss prospect. This week, the Sox sent catcher Zack Collins, taken 10th overall in 2016, to Class AAA Charlotte after he went 2-for-26 in his first call-up.
“The biggest thing is, it’s just a game of adjustments,” Vaughn said. “You have to get used to every level you get to and go out and work every day. Nothing is guaranteed.”
The 6-foot, 200-pound Vaughn is on the short side for a first baseman, but talent evaluators rave about his bat speed, hands and feel for the bat. Vaughn said he keeps it simple, relying more on feel than breaking down video and swing mechanics.
“It really is see ball, hit ball,” he said. “I don’t really want to think too much at the plate because if I do, I’ll get out of whack. The biggest thing is stay balanced, see the ball well and drive it. Put a good charge into it.”