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Interestingly, Schmidt did not mention his LSU commitment in his Instagram post announcing the decision, suggesting that he might be thinking about going to junior college and then reentering the draft next year. Schmidt, a left-handed pitcher, was viewed by many as a first-round talent before slipping to the 59th overall selection on draft day.

No real surprises here. Emerson and Cholowsky are basically a coin flip for the top spot with some draft evaluators viewing Emerson as the favorite based on his age and natural hitting ability. He would probably be the top pick in most draft years. Cholowsky is regarded as the most polished collegiate shortstop in at least a decade with a real chance to be above average both at the plate and in the field. Lackey is an elite defensive catcher that also boasts upper echelon exit velocities and would represent the safest high-floor option. The White Sox will go on the clock at 1:00 EST on Saturday afternoon.

BA had Crews ranked as the No. 53 prospect in the draft. One imagines more than a few players who otherwise would have been drafted and signed with teams this summer will instead opt to go to or remain in college because of what MLB has done to the draft.

Selig was elected by the Today’s Game Committee, one of four committees that evolved out of what was once the Veteran’s Committee. He will be remembered as perhaps the greatest commissioner in baseball history, with a highly successful run in that office for more than 20 years. While he wasn’t always the most liked, he expanded the game and brought massive wealth to all involved. Selig received 15 out of a possible 16 votes.

Manfred has been the right-hand man of Bud Selig, who he will succeed. The official final vote was a unanimous 30-0 for Manfred over Red Sox chairman Tom Werner, but that was just a symbolic gesture. CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reported that Werner initially received eight votes, with those votes coming from the Red Sox, White Sox, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks, Angels, A’s, Reds and Nationals. Eventually, though, the holdouts gave him. Manfred will officially replace Selig on January 25 of next year.

This is highly disappointing news. Whitson, who was selected with the No. 9 pick in June’s draft, will reportedly head to the University of Florida. The Padres are expected to receive the No. 11 pick in next year’s draft as compensation for the failed signing.

Good low-90s fastball and a nice slider made Whitson a pretty obvious first-round pick. Still, the thinking was that he’d go later. He needs to work on his changeup as he climbs the ladder, and he’s at least as much of an injury risk as the typical high school arm.