White Sox select in LHSP Christian Oppor in fifth round (No. 152 overall)

Big, young arm, and another South Side pick as hopeful starter but probable pen

With the No. 152 overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft, the White Sox selected LHSP Christian Oppor from Gulf Coast State junior college.

Four years short of his 19th birthday, the 6´2´´, 175 Oppor is quite obviously a raw arm, with no true secondary stuff, who can hardly be projected as a starting pitcher at this point. Per Jonathan Mayo on the MLB Network, Oppor has run his fastball up to 98 mph, but understandably doesn’t have the stamina to sustain that power deep into a game.

Mayo says that the Madison, Wis. native has a slurvy breaking ball that runs in the upper 70s, and as an ex-basketball player has strong all-around athletic ability. Not that optimism ever runs short on draft broadcasts, but Mayo note that there is a “pretty good ceiling” in Oppor.

Last year for the Commodores, Oppor made 13 games (12 starts), going 3-5 with one complete game. His 6.24 ERA and 1.43 WHIP should not matter to you, but I bet they do.

MLB Network colleague Jim Callis also added that the White Sox thought they had Oppor locked up as a pick in last year’s draft, but the Oakland A’s swooped in and took a gamble on him as a draft-and-follow. Oppor did not sign, and the White Sox redoubled their efforts for Oppor by using up a fifth round pick on him this year.

This does mark the fifth straight pick this year of players by the White Sox who have been ranked lower by MLB than the draft slot used on them.

2023 Chicago White Sox Draft Picks

First Round (No. 15 overall) Jacob González, SS (ranked No. 18 on MLB Pipeline)
Second Round (No. 51 overall) Grant Taylor, RHSP (ranked No. 102 on MLB Pipeline)
Third Round (No. 84 overall) Seth Keener, RHP (ranked No. 108 on MLB Pipeline)
Fourth Round (No. 116 overall) Calvin Harris, C (ranked No. 133 on MLB Pipeline)
Fifth Round (No. 152 overall) Christian Oppor, LHSP (ranked No. 225 on MLB Pipeline)