As top choice in 1992, Nevin gives Sox unique perspective on upcoming No. 1 pick

This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin’s White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CHICAGO – Coverage of the MLB Draft was quite a bit different back when Phil Nevin was taken No. 1 overall in 1992 by the Astros out of California State University Fullerton.

In fact, the congratulatory call tied to this prestigious selection for the third baseman wasn’t as authentic as it appeared.

“I had a staged phone call in my hotel room, because I think we were actually playing a game in Omaha when the pick was announced,” Nevin told MLB.com during a recent phone interview. “But I knew a day or two before, we had gone through it and worked out the details.

“So, the old picture of me sitting by a phone, I’m actually in my hotel room. They put a phone on the table in the corner and made it look like somewhere. Things are a lot different now.”

Different, as in a proliferation of media interest from broadcast options such as MLB Network and ESPN. Different, as in numerous great outlets, such as MLB Pipeline, devoted to prospects beginning from high school and college until they reach the Majors.

Then there’s the most significant present difference in that the White Sox have that top selection overall in the 2026 Draft. Their organizational preparation has been intense and comprehensive in working for the entire Draft and not just this franchise-altering 1-1 pick.

Options at the top seem to be narrowed down to UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, shortstop Grady Emerson from Fort Worth Christian School in Texas, Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey and shortstop Jacob Lombard from Gulliver Prep in Miami. Nevin provides valuable insight beyond his role as a White Sox special assistant in player development, having been in this role as the top draftee 34 years ago.

“It can be helpful,” said White Sox general manager Chris Getz of Nevin’s special input. “There are just not many people who have been the first pick in the Draft historically in our game. To have someone in house that understands what is associated with it helps us in the decision-making.

“He’s been a great addition to our group. He’s just a really good teammate to our scouting group, to our Major League staff, to our Minor League coaches and to players as well. His experience is wide-ranging just because of what he went through in his career.”

Through his work with Dick’s Perfect Game All-American Classic last year in San Diego, Nevin got to know Emerson and Lombard. He also has watched Cholowsky and Lackey, as have many other White Sox front-office members and scouts.

The view for Nevin is a little different. He has seen baseball as a high-level player for 12 seasons, as a manager, as a current member of the White Sox front office and as a top-rated prospect who has been there, done that as part of the Draft.

“I try to sit in a place where I can watch them in the dugout and interact with teammates pregame, during stretch. All of it,” Nevin said. “Every scout does that. The guys I’ve learned from and been around, you watch how they observe players. I think we are all looking at similar things.

“You kind of put yourself in the dugout. But meeting with them and getting to know them, it’s been really fun for me. It really has. I appreciate the opportunity to be able to do this. And have an opinion on it if I’m asked my opinion. It’s been really cool.”

Billy Carlson, a shortstop out of Corona High School in California, was the White Sox top pick at No. 10 overall in the 2025 Draft. Nevin saw a great deal of Carlson being in Southern California, so there’s been a little more traveling for Nevin this year.

Carlson was a strong 2025 pick in Nevin’s mind, but as for '26? That’s another group decision currently being discussed.

An inherent amount of pressure comes with any player drafted in the first round, fostering an expectation to make a sizeable impact at the Major League level. That pressure is enhanced as the top pick overall, especially for a college player, who could be viewed in this instance as a fast-riser to the big leagues at some point in 2027.

Just ask Nevin, who experienced the honor at a different time but still understands what comes with it.

“It was exciting: The same feelings for whoever we take is going to have,” Nevin said. “Looking back, yeah, it’s quite an honor. But at the time, it’s just, all right, you are picked, and you want to get out and play.

“We were at the College World Series. But it’s something you probably look back on and cherish a little more when you are my age or down the road.”