The White Sox selected Arkansas left-hander Hagen Smith with the No. 5 overall pick in the first round of the MLB Draft on Sunday.
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00:00Back to Hagen-Smith, your first round pick, number five overall.
00:04Refresh off the All-Star Game, where we all saw Paul Skeens,
00:08one year after being drafted first overall, start the All-Star Game,
00:12which is a remarkable first time that's ever happened.
00:16People are saying Hagen-Smith could be in the rotation next season
00:20at the Major League level. How realistic is that?
00:24It's real. I mean, it's a real opportunity for the White Sox.
00:28Max is the guy that set the overall for a reason. It's dynamic.
00:32I mean, I was in Arlington the night he took Oregon State for that ride.
00:36Those strikeouts were real. It's the best college performance I've ever
00:40seen since I've been scouting. Now, there was a time in my young career
00:44I saw Max Scherzer and Joba Chamberlain match up. I think it was the best matchup
00:48I've ever seen on a college stage. Max was like a freshman
00:52in college and Joba was a little bit earlier, maybe a junior that year.
00:56In terms of the best individual performance I've ever seen, Hagen
01:00was real. He could have taken the Dodgers for a ride that night. How about the Yankees?
01:04It was so dynamic.
01:08It was the type of moment in your career where you're like, oh, that's different.
01:12Hagen comes with these special attributes that you believe because the fastball
01:16is so real, the heater is so real. Look what Garrett did in the All-Star Game
01:20last night himself. I mean, how dynamic Garrett's weapons are right now with
01:24the fastball and the cutter. Hagen's going to bring the same type of profile
01:28to the White Sox that can be expedited quickly. But you just want to make sure
01:32I know everybody's going to be in this push about rushing there. Is he majorly ready?
01:36The goal is the long-term play. He's a great piece for us. But he has
01:40the same tools like when we selected Garrett in 20. Hagen has the same
01:44piece of dynamic assets that we try to acquire on this
01:48run with power left-handed pitchers.
01:52We play in our ballpark. We're excited for Hagen. He's a great kid.