Duke Blue Devils RHP Marcus Stroman has arguably the best stuff of any pitcher in the 2012 MLB Draft, and if he was two or three inches taller than his 5-foot-9 frame many believe that he would be a top-five pick. Alas, in reality he's still a short right-handed pitcher, and that combination has long scared off many MLB teams, and it's widely believed that Stroman will be a high-end reliever in the majors even though he starts at Duke.
All of that will be too much for many teams, but if there's one team willing to roll the dice on Stroman, it may be the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox, of course, have had great success this season turning Chris Sale, a prospect who made the majors immediately as a reliever, into a starting pitcher, and Kenny Williams may decide to try to replicate that formula with Stroman.
In his most recent mock draft for Baseball Prospectus, Kevin Goldstein sees that scenario playing out:
13. Chicago White Sox ($2.475M): Marcus Stroman, RHP, Duke
A late rumor has the White Sox, always one of the most conservative of drafters, looking at Stroman with the belief that he could help the big league bullpen as early as September. If they turn away from the 5-foot-9 righty, the club is still connected solely to college pitchers, with the usual suspects of [Michael] Wacha, [Andrew] Heaney and [Chris] Stratton all mentioned.
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