White Sox promote Andrew Vaughn to Class A Winston-Salem

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It's been mentioned that Andrew Vaughn could fly through the White Sox system. Well, he's moving on up to another level not two months after being drafted.

The White Sox promoted Vaughn, the power-hitting first baseman they selected with the No. 3 pick in last month's draft, from Class A Kannapolis to Class A Winston-Salem on Wednesday.

Vaughn, who's already ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the White Sox system, showed that extra-base ability in his stint in Low A, hitting .253/.388/.410 with seven doubles, two home runs, 11 RBIs, 14 walks and 14 runs scored in 23 games with Kannapolis.

Vaughn's promotion is rather reminiscent of how the White Sox treated their first-round pick from a year ago, Nick Madrigal, who was promoted from Kannapolis to Winston-Salem when the calendar turned from July to August. And that's not surprising as both fit into the same category of advanced collegiate hitters. Madrigal was touted as the best all-around player in college baseball, and Vaughn's power bat was billed as the best in the draft. Madrigal's currently playing at Double-A Birmingham, and it wouldn't be ridiculous to think he could reach the major leagues in the early portions of next season, particularly if the White Sox plan to make their transition into contention mode.

The possibility for Vaughn to be a fast mover through the minor leagues has been there since he was selected.

“I think he's probably one of the guys that a lot of people would say could be the 'quickest to the big leagues,' someone that could advance fast,” Nick Hostetler, then the White Sox scouting director and since promoted within the front office, said on draft night. “The big thing for him is getting his feet wet and acclimated to professional baseball first before we rush him and declare him our starting first baseman. Get him acclimated first and make sure that he's gotten tested at different levels. I think that's going to be big for him.

“He is a guy who is advanced at the plate, so you would like to think that skill set would offer the ability for him to move through our system more quickly than someone who might need a swing overhaul or someone that is just a pure athlete and needs time to work on the bat. I would expect him to move probably a little bit quicker than a normal progression.

“But at the same time, until he gets out there and shows us what he can do offensively in the pro setting, that will be left up to (director of player development Chris Getz).”

Vaughn's well on his way.

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