White Sox May Grab A Former First Round Pick In The Rule-5 Draft

The Rule-5 draft is approaching quickly and the White Sox will have the second overall pick this year. Last year, the White Sox used the first overall pick on starting pitcher Shane Smith. This turned out to be a very good pick, as he was the all-star representative for the White Sox at the midsummer classic.

For all the good it can bring, the Rule-5 draft is very volatile. Last year was great for the White Sox in terms of Rule-5 draft players, as Shane Smith and Mike Vasil should both be long-term pieces after impressing in their rookie seasons. However, prior to that, you have to go back to 2017 for the last Rule-5 player that made any sort of impact for the White Sox, that being starting pitcher Dylan Covey.

The White Sox will look to strike gold again this year and will have an interesting pool of players to choose from. As you can see below, Baseball America points out how many former first round picks were left unprotected in the draft. This means if the White Sox want to add any of these players they can, as long as the Rockies don’t select them before the White Sox do.

This was a ROUGH protection deadline for first-time eligible first-rounders 😬@jjcoop36 explains why: https://t.co/wgUIFb0Bbz pic.twitter.com/ELy7Y1Gbbb

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) November 19, 2025

The trickiest part about the Rule-5 draft is that the player must remain on the active roster the entire season or they will have to return the player to the team they selected the player from. This means it makes more sense to pick a player who has been in AA or AAA, as they will be more prepared to make the jump to the major leagues. Additionally, sometimes there is a reason why a team left a player unprotected, as if it is not due to a 40-man roster crunch, they may simply not care if they lose the player, which isn’t always a good thing.

While the White Sox had more success with developing rule five pitchers this past season, as Gage Workman did not end up working out, there are some intriguing hitters out there. One player that the White Sox could be interested in selecting with the second pick is infielder Jacob Berry.

Berry was the 6th overall pick by the Miami Marlins in the 2022 MLB draft out of LSU. After being drafted, Berry mainly played in low-A to finish out the season. He slashed .248/.343./.362 adding three homeruns and 26 RBIs.

In 2023, Berry split time between high-A and AA, overall slashing .233/.284/.388. He added nine homeruns, 56 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases. This was a bit of a disappointing season for Berry, as I’m sure the Marlins organization expected more out of their 6th overall pick.

2024 was much of the same for Berry, as he played a majority of his games in AA, before getting promoted to AAA for the last 25 games. Berry slashed .239/.307/.363 adding 11 homers, 54 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases. He nearly doubled his walk total as he was up to 41 after being at 25 in 2023.

However, in 2025, Berry showed significant improvement, as he spent the entire year in AAA. In 123 games, Berry hit .261 with a .348 OBP. He added eight homeruns, 54 RBIs, and 27 stolen bases. Outside of homeruns and RBIs, he posted a career high in almost every category.

TRIPLE-A NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!!!!

JACOB BERRY WALK-OFF HOME RUN pic.twitter.com/MWzco6z2e3

— Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (@JaxShrimp) September 28, 2025

Berry may have finally figured something out, as he is still just 24 years old. Now that the Marlins didn’t protect him, any team can select him in the Rule-5 draft. It is unclear why the Marlins did not protect him, but the White Sox would be smart to take a chance on Berry.

Berry plays the infield and the outfield so there is some positional versatility, which would allow him to get more at-bats. The White Sox could use some more depth at the corners, which is where Berry has mainly played, so he could be a fit.

I’m not sure if the White Sox will feel comfortable selecting a hitter in the Rule-5 draft this year after their success with the pitchers last season, but Berry has the talent that may be too difficult to pass up.