White Sox scouting head Mike Shirley says team wants best player in draft, regardless of money — to a point

No one knows whom the White Sox will take with the first pick in the MLB Draft on Saturday. And according to Sox director of amateur scouting Mike Shirley, that includes the Sox.

“I don’t know who it is yet,” Shirley said Wednesday. “That’s the best part. And I feel like we’re going to keep working up to the moment to figure that out.”

We do know this: Shirley said the Sox have narrowed their choices to shortstops Roch Cholowsky and Grady Emerson and catcher Vahn Lackey, though it’s widely believed the pick will come down to the two shortstops.

When the Sox won the draft lottery in December, UCLA’s Cholowsky was considered the top player on the board. Since then, Emerson, a high school player out of Fort Worth (Texas) Christian, has made the pick a toss-up. Georgia Tech’s Lackey adds to the intrigue.

We also know that under the direction of general manager Chris Getz, the Sox won’t select a player based on needs in the majors or the farm system. And money won’t be an issue, either — to a point.

“He’s told us we’re taking the best player,” Shirley said. “It’s not about the major-league team, it’s not about the money; it’s about who is the best player. It’s a little bit out of our hands if the representation of the player asks for a record bonus that we’re not comfortable with. That would be the only indication that may make us pivot, what the actual costs were.”

Those could be interesting conversations, especially considering Cholowsky and Emerson have the same representation. Perhaps that’s why Lackey is still in the mix.

Nevertheless, the Sox will come away with a premium player at a position they covet. Getz has said it’s no coincidence they prefer shortstops — they’re generally the best players on their teams. Three of the Sox’ last five first-round picks have been shortstops. And quality catchers are hard to find, as the major-league team has experienced this season.

Shirley is keenly aware of Cholowsky’s abilities, having scouting him when Cholowsky was in high school.

“You see a much stronger player; he’s more physically advanced,” he said. “He is foundational on the field with his habits, he’s a leader on the field, he has a very secure defense at shortstop. I think the power is real.”

Emerson has been coached in high school by former major-leaguer Rusty Greer.

“Anytime you’re around someone at the major-league level, they’re going to support you like that,” Shirley said. “Grady’s an elite high school player. [He has] an elite high school hit tool, and he does it really easy. So we’re zeroing in on these guys pretty good.

“And even Vahn Lackey is a supreme athlete who really could define the catching position and be foundational defensively. There’s a lot of traits to him that we’re continuing to dig in.”

Shirley isn’t worried about the time a high school player might need to develop, as evidenced by the Sox’ first-round pick last year, high school shortstop Billy Carlson, whom MLB.com ranks as the fourth-best prospect in their system.

“High school players are facing 95 [mph], they’re facing 98,” Shirley said. “They’re accustomed to the stuff. So it’s not like when they get to the major leagues, it’s going to be the first time they ever see that.

“It’s not about what they are today; it’s about what they’re going to be two to three years from now when they show up here at the major-league level.”

And Shirley doesn’t want to be picking first overall two to three years from now — or ever again.

“I want to pass this on to someone else, and I want the White Sox to win a championship real soon,” he said. “I don’t want to lose the way we lost to get here; that was painful. But how can you not be excited to have the No. 1 pick and with the direction of the club?

MLB DRAFT

Noon Saturday, Picks 1-10, NBC 5

1:30 p.m., Picks 11-40, MLB