Courtney Hawkins of the Most Valuable Prospects watches his fly ball batted against Chicago White Sox during the 2011 Breakthrough Series at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park on July 28, 2011 in Durham, North Carolina. Most Valuable Prospects won 17-2 over the Chicago White Sox. (Photo by Sara D. Davis/Getty Images)
CHICAGO (CBS) — The Chicago White Sox have selected Courtney Hawkins, an outfielder from Carroll High School in Corpus Christi, Texas, as their first-round pick in the Major League Baseball draft Monday.
The White Sox had the 13th pick overall. The 18-year-old senior is batting .437 with 11 home runs, 39 RBI and 56 runs scored in 36 games with the Tigers this season. Hawkins is 6-foot-3, 220 pounds.
“First and foremost, Courtney is a quality young man who we’ve followed for several years at various showcases, including our own Double Duty Classic,” White Sox scouting director Doug Laumann said in a written statement. “We’ve had a lot of people in to see him, and he has developed into the type of player we expected. This pick may seem like we are going away from our tendency with a high school player, but this kid has too much potential for us to pass up. We are enormously excited.”
Hawkins, a native of Corpus Christi, was rated by Baseball America as the No. 15 Prospect overall and the Second Best Power Hitter among high school players.
