Levine: White Sox No. 1 Draft Pick Visits U.S. Cellular Field
By Bruce Levine--
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The White Sox's top in the amateur draft earlier this month got his an up-close look at big league baseball and Chicago on Saturday.
Fresh off of a College World Series trip and signing a $3.3-million deal, Miami catcher Zack Collins toured U.S. Cellular Field. He was selected No. 10 overall by the White Sox.
Collins and the Hurricanes were eliminated earlier this week in Omaha, and he promptly signed the deal with Chicago. Collins took batting practice with the team and threw out the first pitch prior to the White Sox-Blue Jays game.
Chicago will send the 21-year-old Collins to Class-A Winston-Salem after a week of rest and relaxation. Collins will also first spend two days at the White Sox minor-league camp in Glendale, Ariz., before starting his professional baseball career.
"It has been a crazy couple of days," Collins said. "I am just enjoying it because it's been a dream come true for me. I think this ballpark is really nice, and I am happy to be a part of this organization."
During White Sox batting practice, the leftty-swinging Collins hit four or five balls into the bleachers. He displayed good pull-side power and had surprising pop to left field.
"This really felt great to be hitting with some of the guys I looked up to when I was young," Collins said.
The consensus among White Sox officials is that Collins will need to sharpen his footwork behind the plate in order to advance as a catcher in the major leagues.
"The bat is more advanced than the defense," said one scout who saw him play 10 times last season.
"I really have to work at everything," Collins said. "Now that I am in this organization, I know we have great coaching, I hope to make it out here in a decently short period of time."
Collins was a .363 hitter in 2016. He played in 62 games, accruing an incredible .544 on-base percentage. His power numbers included 10 doubles and 16 home runs with 59 RBIs.
"I started working on hitting the ball to all fields when I went Miami," Collins said. "That has helped me out a lot on handling the way they pitch me. Learning to hit to all fields has really helped my game."
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.