CHICAGO -- The White Sox will go for the best talent available when they pick at No. 11 in the first round of the 2020 Draft on June 10, a common philosophy for the organization.

So, could that player be Ed Howard, a talented shortstop from Mt. Carmel High School in Chicago? Even with Howard’s senior season canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the White Sox certainly know a great deal about the University of Oklahoma commit who has been a part of their Amateur City Elite (ACE) youth baseball program since he was 11.

“Ed Howard has been tremendous. We feel like we have a great relationship with that kid, and he has been nothing but a tremendous citizen and someone Chicago should be very proud of,” said White Sox director of amateur scouting Mike Shirley during a Draft preview conference call on Tuesday. “I like his family. I wish him the best. I really do. He’s a player we continue to talk about. We like Ed Howard.”

“He’s a very mature kid,” Kenny Fullman, the ACE program manager, told MLB.com of Howard. “He’s a very grounded kid. He’s a very well-rounded kid. He has a great support system. His parents are wonderful. His mom and dad are wonderful people. His sisters are very supportive. He has the all-around makeup to be able to take on the adversity, the ups and downs of playing professional baseball.”

Any selection of Howard in the first round would mark the inaugural strictly high school player to be taken that high since ACE’s inception in 2007. And there’s plenty of talent to go with Howard’s exceptional makeup.

“He set himself apart last summer, last fall. His junior year,” Shirley said. “We’ve been scouting that guy for a while now. I think what he’s done for himself personally is only going to make himself valuable regardless if you had a chance to see him or not. You know what this kid looks like. You know what he’s capable of doing.”

“Yes, he has the first-round talent and we’ve known that for a long time,” Fullman said. “Ed has had phenomenal instincts and infield action since we’ve seen him as a little kid, since the fall of 2013. We could see it right then. He had great instincts, great hands, great actions. His bat has come along so far.”

Is the White Sox selection of Howard a true possibility? They have Tim Anderson, the defending American League batting champion, set at shortstop possibly through 2024. Yoán Moncada’s new deal, agreed upon during this past Spring Training, could keep him as the White Sox third baseman through ’25. And second baseman Nick Madrigal, the team’s top pick in the 2018 Draft, is close to Major League ready. The White Sox also have not selected a high school position player in the first round since outfielder Courtney Hawkins in 2012.

Yet best available talent remains best available talent, with overall fit being a concern, but something that could possibly be adjusted as the years go on. Shirley admitted the White Sox have 15 players in mind for that 11th spot, but with 10 teams ahead of them, that realistic number is closer to four.

MLB.com’s latest mock draft has the White Sox attached to catcher Patrick Bailey out of North Carolina State, with Howard going at No. 28 to the Yankees. The previous mock draft had Howard to the Twins one pick earlier, bringing up the interesting point of White Sox ACE personnel watching someone who has grown up in their program moving to an AL Central rival.

“I’m a Sox fan, I’m a South Sider,” Fullman said. “I love my White Sox, but I love my kids and whatever is the best place for my kids to go out and play and going to treat them fairly, that’s all I worry about. I want them to be able to give my kids the right opportunity and chance to get up to the big leagues.”