South Carolina OF commit George Wolkow selected by Chicago White Sox in 2023 MLB Draft

The hard work of George Wolkow all paid off on Sunday night, as the outfielder from Downers Grove North high school in Illinois was selected with the No. 209 overall pick by the Chicago White Sox in the 2023 MLB Draft.

Nicknamed ‘Aaron George’ for his size that resembles big leaguer Aaron Judge, Walkow towers at 6-foot-7, 240 pounds as a 17-year-old, clearly already brining MLB level size to the table.

Wolkow is supposed to be headed into his senior year of high school, but reclassified and graduated a year earlier to double down on his baseball dreams. He spent last season playing for the Green Bay Rockers of the Northwoods League (a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league).

He’s one of the youngest players in this year’s draft class, turning 18 years old in six months, but is still ranked the No. 71 prospect according to MLB.com. Wolkow signed to play baseball at South Carolina last fall, and will have to make another decision soon regarding the future of his young baseball career.

More on the 2023 MLB Draft

The 2023 Major League Baseball Draft will begin during All-Star week, with the first two rounds getting underway at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. Rounds 3-10 will then begin at 2 p.m. ET on Monday, July 10, with rounds 11-20 starting at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 11.

This year’s MLB Draft is a historic one, as a draft lottery was used to determine the order for the first time. The Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland Athletics each had a 16.5% chance to receive the No. 1 overall pick. Ultimately, Pittsburgh won the right to have the first selection, with Washington finishing right behind them at No. 2. Oakland, however, fell all the way down to No. 6 overall.

While the MLB Draft is always unpredictable, the consensus is that this year’s top prospects both hail from LSU, who won the 2023 College World Series. Pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews headline this year’s class, which is considered a deep one.

Within the first ten rounds of the draft, each slot is assigned a certain value. Each team has a bonus pool that they are able to spend on these picks, and players will sign at, above or below their assigned slot value.

In rounds 11-20, there is no assigned slot value and MLB teams are free to spend up to $150,000 to sign their picks from the second half of the draft. If they exceed the $150,000 mark, that added amount will be deducted from their bonus pool.

Following the final day of the 2023 MLB Draft, selected players will have until August 1 to sign a contract.