He fits the profile of the prototypical draft choice in this recent White Sox class
Third Baseman
6´3´´
195 pounds
Age: 22
2023 High Level Arizona Complex League (Rookie)
Age relative to high level +1.2 years
SSS rank among all third basemen in the system 5
Overall 2023 NCAA stats 59 games ⚾️ 9 HR ⚾️ 38 RBI ⚾️ .281/.396/.475 ⚾️ 6-of-6 (100%) SB ⚾️ 33 BB ⚾️ 35 K
With the No. 519 pick in the 2023 MLB draft, the Chicago White Sox selected infielder Mikey Kane from Oregon State University — on his 22nd birthday. Happy birthday, Mikey ... pretty awesome gift, eh?
Kane brings a little bit of everything to the table, which seemed to be the decided direction the White Sox took overall in the 2023 draft — including some pop. Kane also ended his college career on a personal high note of an 18-game hitting streak.
Kane had just one season at Oregon State and put up some impressive numbers against quality opponents. On the year, he slashed .281/.396/.475 with six steals (never caught) and a strong BB/K ratio (33 BB/35 K).
Kane also repeated a pattern of another sort for the 2023 White Sox draft: A former JUCO product turned PAC-12 hitter who controlled the strike zone.
Kane had a better than average contact rate, chase rate, and whiff rate, finishing with a strikeout rate that was 6% better than the average D1 hitter. His strikeout-to-walk ratio was in the 85th percentile.
His batted-ball profile leaves a lot to be desired on the surface, as Kane was in the bottom third of D1 in Barrel%, SweetSpot%, and average exit velocity in his lone season at Oregon State. However, he is another hitter that pulled the ball in the air well, as was in the 89th percentile. He has a simple leg kick in his load and keeps his hands inside the baseball nicely to allow him to turn on inside pitches and elevate them. He hit better than .300 on inner-third pitches in 2023.
Defensively, Kane was the Beavers’ regular third baseman, but he also played some shortstop.
The White Sox must feel that this type of profile for a college hitter has a much higher probability of returning any kind of major league value versus the inverse, at least for them.
Kane’s Baseball Cube player ratings
Contact 90
Hitting 79
Durability 55
Speed 51
RBIs 47
Runs 39
XBH 35
Power 33
Kane barely got his feet wet in the ACL in 2023 (seven games, nine singles in 24 at-bats), but he’s significantly older than the level. He might possibly break camp in the ACL, but he should field much if not all of 2024 in Kannapolis.
93. Mikey Kane, 3B
94. Carlton Perkins, RHSP
95. Tyler Neslony, LF
96. Drew Dalquist, RHSP
97. Jason Matthews, SS
98. Jonathan Stiever, RHSP
99. Tommy Sommer, LHSP
100. Daniel González, LHRP
