CHICAGO -- With the White Sox selecting No. 3 overall in the 2019 Draft, there shouldn't be much uncertainty, with only the Orioles and Royals picking before them. But the direction taken by those two teams still influences Chicago.

If Adley Rutschman -- the catcher out of Oregon State projected to go No. 1 -- is somehow passed over, the White Sox could be adding another elite backstop to their mix.

“I don’t think it’s set in stone, not by any stretch,” said White Sox director of amateur scouting Nick Hostetler of the Orioles and Royals’ thought process. “Baltimore and K.C. are doing what they are supposed to do and it’s doing their due diligence on the main players, talking to those guys and talking to some player agents out there.

“We’ve already started to prepare for should they go one direction, where do we go. We’ll have that all lined up as soon as it gets here.”

The 2019 Draft will take place tonight through Wednesday, beginning with tonight's Draft preview show on MLB Network and MLB.com at 5 CT. MLB Network will broadcast the first 41 picks (Round 1 and Competitive Balance Round A), while MLB.com will stream all 78 picks on Day 1. MLB.com will also provide live pick-by-pick coverage of Rounds 3-10 on Day 2, beginning with a preview show at 12:30 p.m. ET. Then, Rounds 11-40 can be heard live on MLB.com on Day 3, beginning at noon ET.

Go to MLB.com/Draft to see the Top 200 Prospects list, mock drafts from MLB Pipeline analysts Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, the complete order of selection and more. And follow @MLBDraft on Twitter to see what Draft hopefuls, clubs and experts are saying.

Here’s how the Draft is shaping up for the White Sox, whose first selection is the third overall pick.

In about 50 words
In Year 3 of the rebuild, many of the prospects comprising Chicago's highly touted system are making their way to the Majors. That list includes outfielder Eloy Jiménez, right-handed pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López, third baseman Yoán Moncada and Michael Kopech, the top-of-the-rotation starter who is working his way back from Tommy John surgery. Right-handed hurler Dylan Cease and catcher Zack Collins are moving closer to their potential MLB debuts. The White Sox still will be drafting the best player available at No. 3, regardless of position.

What they’re saying
There’s been a White Sox organizational Draft shift over the past few years from athletes who play baseball to baseball players with athletic ability, with a greater usage of analytics in the process. The White Sox took infielder Nick Madrigal -- a high contact, high character, tremendously talented defensive second baseman -- at No. 4 from Oregon State in 2018, and he appears on the fast track to the Majors. At No. 3, where it took Carlos Rodon when last picking at this spot in 2014, Chicago could be looking for an even greater impact player.

“That’s the No. 1 priority, the talent,” Hostetler said. “So we are going to take the best guy we feel most comfortable with. If that guy also provides us financial flexibility or it’s close in the evaluating process, we like guys and feel they are similar talents and one provides us with a little more opportunities later in the Draft, we are going to do that.”

Who might they take?
According to Hostetler, the White Sox have six players under consideration at No. 3. This group includes one pitcher, again per Hostetler, who is not from the high school ranks. That list figures to be made up of Rutschman, shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., shortstop CJ Abrams, outfielder J.J. Bleday, first baseman Andrew Vaughn and left-handed pitcher Nick Lodolo.

It would not be a surprise if the White Sox went with Abrams, although the team has Tim Anderson in place at shortstop and has not chosen a high school player in the first round since Courtney Hawkins in 2012. Abrams has the athletic ability to move around the diamond.

Money matters
Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, each team has an allotted bonus pool equal to the sum of the values of that club's selections in the first 10 rounds of the Draft. The more picks a team has, and the earlier it picks, the larger the pool. The signing bonuses for a team's selections in the first 10 rounds, plus any bonus greater than $125,000 for a player taken after the 10th round, will apply toward the bonus-pool total.

Any team going up to 5 percent over its allotted pool will be taxed at a 75-percent rate on the overage. A team that overspends by 5-10 percent gets a 75-percent tax plus the loss of a first-round pick. A team that goes 10-15 percent over its pool amount will be hit with a 100-percent penalty on the overage and the loss of a first- and second-round pick. Any overage of 15 percent or more gets a 100-percent tax plus the loss of first-round picks in the next two Drafts.

This year, the White Sox have a pool of $11,565,500 to spend in the first 10 rounds, including $7,221,200 to spend on their first selection.

Shopping list
The recent run of pitching injuries is something the White Sox will likely address as the Draft progresses. But with this Draft not being a strong one for college pitchers, they're more likely to look to high school hurlers. The White Sox won’t change their early-round Draft philosophy to compensate for the injuries. They also have a system loaded with outfielders and potential first basemen/designated hitters with big bats, so those areas won’t end up as an overall point of emphasis.

Trend watch
Since 2001, when the White Sox selected RHP Kris Honel out of Providence Catholic High School, they have chosen a college player with their first pick in every year but 2012 with Hawkins. But the strength of this year’s high school class might dictate an overall adjustment in philosophy.

“Overall, the whole high school class is really good from a pitching and hitting standpoint,” Hostetler said. “We are really comfortable with a lot of these guys and feel confident there are a lot of big leaguers in this high school class.

“The times have changed, in that the training and preparation these guys have has increased so much. They are more prepared for professional baseball and more prepared to be on their own. I do think the gap in development has shrunk.”

The recent top picks
2018: Nick Madrigal, 2B (Class A Advanced Winston-Salem)
2017: Jake Burger, 3B (left Achilles injury/Class A Kannapolis)
2016: Zack Collins, C (Triple-A Charlotte)
2015: Carson Fulmer, RHP (Charlotte)
2014: Carlos Rodon, LHP, (Tommy John surgery/White Sox)