The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. They play in the American League Central division. Since the institution of MLB's Rule 4 Draft, the White Sox have selected 66 players in the first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is MLB's primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, with the team possessing the worst record receiving the first pick. In addition, teams which lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks.

Of the 66 players picked in the first round by the Chicago White Sox, 32 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 20 of them were right-handed, while 12 were left-handed. Twelve outfielders, eight catchers, five shortstops, five third basemen, and four first basemen were also taken. The team has never drafted a player at second base. Fourteen of the players came from high schools or universities in the state of California, and Florida follows with eight players. The White Sox have also drafted six players from their home state of Illinois.

Two White Sox first-round picks are members of the Hall of Fame; Frank Thomas (1989) was elected to the Hall at his first opportunity in .The other is Harold Baines. One player has won a championship with the team; Aaron Rowand (1998) was part of the 2005 World Series championship team. Thomas was a member of the White Sox for 16 years, including the 2005 season, but was not part of the World Series roster due to injury. Thomas is also the only first-round draft pick to win the Most Valuable Player Award, winning the American League honors in both 1993 and 1994. One pick, 1987 selection Jack McDowell, has won the Cy Young Award with the team; he won it in 1993. The White Sox had the first overall selection three times in the draft, which they used on Danny Goodwin (1971), Harold Baines (1977) and TBD (2026).

The White Sox have made 16 selections in the supplemental round of the draft and 5 compensatory picks since the institution of the First-Year Player Draft in 1965. These additional picks are provided when a team loses a particularly valuable free agent in the previous off-season, or, more recently, if a team fails to sign a draft pick from the previous year. The White Sox have failed to sign three of their first-round picks: Danny Goodwin (1971), Steve Buechele (1979), and Bobby Seay (1996). The White Sox did not receive any compensation for Goodwin or Buechele, but they did receive the 51st pick in 1997 for failing to sign Seay.

Key Year Each year links to an article about that year's Major League Baseball draft. Position Indicates the secondary/collegiate position at which the player was drafted, rather than the professional position the player may have gone on to play Pick Indicates the number of the pick* Player did not sign with the White Sox § Indicates a supplemental pick†Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame '05 Player was a member of the White Sox' 2005 championship team

Picks

Year Name Position School (location)Pick Ref 1965 Catcher University of Notre Dame(Notre Dame, Indiana) 17 1966 Outfielder A. H. Parker High School(Birmingham, Alabama) 18 1967 Third baseman Headland High School(East Point, Georgia) 13 1968 Shortstop Ohio University(Athens, Ohio) 14 1969 Third baseman Oak Park High School(Laurel, Mississippi) 1970 Shortstop Southern University(Baton Rouge, Louisiana) 1971 * Catcher Peoria Central High School(Peoria, Illinois) 1972 Outfielder Cordova High School(Rancho Cordova, California) 12 1973 Catcher Ohio University(Athens, Ohio) 21 1974 Right-handed pitcher Forest View High School(Arlington Heights, Illinois) 1975 Right-handed pitcher Central Michigan University(Mount Pleasant, Michigan) 11 1976 Left-handed pitcher Thornwood High School(South Holland, Illinois) 1977 † First baseman St. Michael's High School(Easton, Maryland) 1978 1979 * Shortstop Servite High School(Anaheim, California) 1979 Catcher Brenham High School(Brenham, Texas) 19§ 1980 Outfielder Point Loma High School(San Diego, California) 1981 Left-handed pitcher Woodward High School(Cincinnati, Ohio) 1982 Catcher William R. Boone High School(Orlando, Florida) 14 1983 Right-handed pitcher Sandalwood High School(Jacksonville, Florida) 13 Outfielder Wichita State University(Wichita, Kansas) 28§ 1984 Right-handed pitcher American High School(Miami, Florida) 20 Outfielder Hudson's Bay High School(Vancouver, Washington) 26 1985 Catcher Glendora High School(Glendora, California) 1986 Left-handed pitcher Northwestern University(Evanston, Illinois) 20 1987 Right-handed pitcher Stanford University(Stanford, California) 1988 Third baseman Oklahoma State University–Stillwater(Stillwater, Oklahoma) 10 1989† First baseman Auburn University(Auburn, Alabama) 1990 Right-handed pitcher Miami Dade College(Miami, Florida) 1991 Right-handed pitcher Baylor University(Waco, Texas) 25 1992 First baseman Bishop State Community College(Mobile, Alabama) 24 1993 Left-handed pitcher Oregon State University(Corvallis, Oregon) 17 1994 Catcher Warner Robins High School(Warner Robins, Georgia) 26 Right-handed pitcher Texas A&M University(College Station, Texas) 33§ 1995 Third baseman California State University, Long Beach(Long Beach, California) 25 1996 * Left-handed pitcher Sarasota High School(Sarasota, Florida) 12 1997 Shortstop University of South Florida(Tampa, Florida) 15 Right-handed pitcher Saddleback College(Mission Viejo, California) 33§ Outfielder El Capitan High School(Lakeside, California) 34§ Right-handed pitcher Central Arizona College(Coolidge, Arizona) 43§ Left-handed pitcher University of California, Los Angeles(Los Angeles, California) 46§ Right-handed pitcher California State University, Long Beach(Long Beach, California) 51§ 1998 Right-handed pitcher Baylor University(Waco, Texas) 16 '05 Outfielder California State University, Fullerton(Fullerton, California) 35§ 1999 Right-handed pitcher Centralia High School(Centralia, Washington) 15 Right-handed pitcher Mississippi State University(Mississippi State, Mississippi) 22§ Right-handed pitcher West Monroe High School(West Monroe, Louisiana) 35§ Right-handed pitcher Bradley University(Peoria, Illinois) 45§ 2000 Outfielder Stanford University(Stanford, California) 12 2001 Right-handed pitcher Providence Catholic High School(New Lenox, Illinois) 16 Right-handed pitcher University of Tennessee(Knoxville, Tennessee) 39§ 2002 Left-handed pitcher San Diego State University(San Diego, California) 18 2003 Outfielder University of Arizona(Tucson, Arizona) 15 2004 Third baseman Oklahoma State University–Stillwater(Stillwater, Oklahoma) 18 Left-handed pitcher Clemson University(Clemson, South Carolina) 34§ Left-handed pitcher Monsignor Edward Pace High School(Opa-locka, Florida) 38§ 2005 Right-handed pitcher Texas Christian University(Fort Worth, Texas) 15 2006 Right-handed pitcher University of Texas at Austin(Austin, Texas) 29 2007 Left-handed pitcher University of San Francisco(San Francisco, California) 25 2008 Shortstop University of Georgia(Athens, Georgia) 2009 Outfielder Louisiana State University(Baton Rouge, Louisiana) 23 Catcher Indiana University Bloomington(Bloomington, Indiana) 38§ 2010 Left-handed pitcher Florida Gulf Coast University(Fort Myers, Florida) 13 2011 Outfielder Central Arizona College(Coolidge, Arizona) 47§ 2012 Outfielder Mary Carroll High School(Corpus Christi, Texas) 13 First baseman King High School(Tampa, Florida) 48§ 2013 Shortstop East Central Community College(Decatur, Mississippi) 17 2014 Left-handed pitcher North Carolina State University(Raleigh, North Carolina) 3 2015 Right-handed pitcher Vanderbilt University(Nashville, Tennessee) 8 2016 Catcher University of Miami(Coral Gables, Florida) 10 Pitcher University of Louisville(Louisville, Kentucky) 26§ 2017 Third baseman Missouri State University(Springfield, Missouri) 11 2018 Shortstop Oregon State University(Corvallis, Oregon) 4 2019 First baseman University of California(Berkeley, California) 3 2020 Left-handed pitcher University of Tennessee(Knoxville, Tennessee) 11 2021 Shortstop Southridge High School(Huntingburg, Indiana) 22 2022 Left-handed pitcher Oswego East High School(Oswego, Illinois) 26 2023 Shortstop Ole Miss University(Oxford, Mississippi) 15 2024 Left-handed pitcher University of Arkansas(Fayetteville, Arkansas) 5 2025 Shortstop Corona High School(Corona, California) 102026 Shortstop UCLA(Los Angeles, California) 1Landon ThomeShortstopNazareth Academy (La Grange Park, Illinois) 34§

See also Chicago White Sox minor league players

Footnotes Through the 2012 draft, free agents were evaluated by the Elias Sports Bureau and rated "Type A", "Type B", or not compensation-eligible. If a team offered arbitration to a player but that player refused and subsequently signed with another team, the original team was able to receive additional draft picks. If a "Type A" free agent left in this way, his previous team received a supplemental pick and a compensatory pick from the team with which he signed. If a "Type B" free agent left in this way, his previous team received only a supplemental pick. Since the 2013 draft, free agents are no longer classified by type; instead, compensatory picks are only awarded if the team offered its free agent a contract worth at least the average of the 125 current richest MLB contracts. However, if the free agent's last team acquired the player in a trade during the last year of his contract, it is ineligible to receive compensatory picks for that player. The White Sox lost their first-round pick in 1978 to the New York Yankees as compensation for signing free agent Ron Blomberg. The White Sox gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1979 from the Baltimore Orioles for losing free agent Steve Stone. The White Sox gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1983 from the New York Yankees for losing free agent Steve Kemp. The White Sox gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1983 for losing free agent Steve Kemp. The White Sox gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1984 from the Toronto Blue Jays for losing free agent Dennis Lamp. The White Sox gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1994 for losing free agent Ellis Burks. The White Sox gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1997 for losing free agent Alex Fernandez. The White Sox gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1997 for losing free agent Kevin Tapani. The White Sox gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1997 for losing free agent Alex Fernandez. The White Sox gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1997 for losing free agent Alex Fernandez. The White Sox gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1997 for failing to sign draft pick Bobby Seay. The White Sox gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1998 for losing free agent Dave Martinez. The White Sox gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1999 from the New York Mets for losing free agent Robin Ventura. The White Sox gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1999 for losing free agent Albert Belle. The White Sox gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1999 for losing free agent Robin Ventura. The White Sox gained a compensatory first-round pick in 2001 from the Florida Marlins for losing free agent Charles Johnson. The White Sox gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2001 for losing free agent Charles Johnson. The White Sox gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2004 for losing free agent Bartolo Colón. The White Sox gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2004 for losing free agent Tom Gordon. The White Sox gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2009 for losing free agent Orlando Cabrera. The White Sox gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2011 for losing free agent J. J. Putz.