The Chicago White Sox selected a player with a familiar name with the No. 34 choice in Saturday’s Major League Draft when they chose infielder Landon Thome from Nazareth Academy outside Chicago.
Landon Thome is the son of Hall of Famer Jim Thome, who works for the White Sox as a special assistant to general manager Chris Getz. The younger Thome was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for Illinois.
According to the White Sox, Landon Thome batted .535 with seven homers, 29 RBIs, 57 runs and was successful on 49 of 50 steal attempts as a high school senior.
The elder Thome also helped coach Nazareth Academy, which is located roughly 15 miles to the west in the suburb of La Grange Park, Ill.
The Pirates traded infielder Jacob Gonzalez and right-hander Brandon Eisert to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday to obtain the 34th pick.
Landon Thome was a shortstop in high school but has the ability to also play second or third base. That versatility is key because the White Sox selected UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky with the No. 1 overall pick of Saturday’s draft.
Jim Thome 55, ranks eighth in baseball history with 612 homers over 22 seasons and the five-time All-Star spent 13 of the campaigns with Cleveland. However, he spent 3 1/2 seasons (2006-09) with the White Sox and hit at least 34 homers in all three of the full seasons.
He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018.
