Family affair: White Sox draft SS Landon Thome, son of Hall of Famer Jim

CHICAGO – There’s a current picture on Andrea Thome’s Instagram stories, a social media image created by the White Sox, showing a young Landon Thome wearing his Hall of Fame dad’s White Sox jersey, with the saying, "The Legacy Continues."

“Dream come true,” was added above the photo by Landon’s mom and Jim’s wife.

“When will it sink in,” she added on X.

This celebration emanated from the White Sox selecting Landon, an 18-year-old shortstop out of Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park, Ill., with the No. 34 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. Jim Thome currently serves as a special assistant to White Sox general manager Chris Getz and had a strong hand in the scouting process for the White Sox picks.

In this instance of Landon, the White Sox went through a familiar home Draft visit with the Thome family.

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"There was nothing surprising, let’s put it that way,” said Getz with a laugh. “Landon, a lot of attention because of Jim. We’ve known Landon for a long time.

“We know the Thome family and what they are about. We know it’s important to dive into support systems and what you are getting from a player and to know what we are getting with Landon. We are very confident he’s going to reach his ceiling because of how he was raised.”

Selecting one of the best high school hitters in this year’s Draft class followed the White Sox pick of shortstop Roch Cholowsky via the first overall selection for the third time in franchise history. In a trade with the Pirates late Friday, the White Sox added this Competitive Balance Round A selection (No. 34 overall) in the Draft and left-handed pitcher Jaden Woods in exchange for left-handed pitcher Brandon Eisert and infielder Jacob Gonzalez.

That move gave them the largest pool of any team and allowed them greater leeway to select Cholowsky and still build an overall impactful Draft, as amateur scouting director Mike Shirley has talked about a number of times.

Like his dad, who's also an assistant coach at Nazareth, Thome swings lefty and has the ability to do damage -- just in a different way. The Florida State commit has shown himself to be a well-rounded hitter and can drive the ball with authority to all fields (he already has a 91.1 mph average exit velo), though scouts say his overall hitting ability is more apparent than his home run prowess at the moment. But the pop is there.

"Looking back at my dad in high school [when Jim was also a shortstop], he kind of had a similar build to me, kind of a longer, lankier guy," Landon told MLB.com recently. "I'm more of a different hitter than my dad, just kind of more of a pure hitter, while my dad is more kind of that power guy. So I try to kind of model my game after myself. I like to play my own game instead of trying to model my game after other people."

Thome was named the 2026 Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year after hitting .535 with seven homers, 29 RBIs, 57 runs scored and a 1.676 OPS at the time of the selection. The 6-foot, 177-pound senior also stole 49 bases in 50 attempts for Nazareth to set the school's single-season steals record. His ability to steal bases is another factor that makes him distinct from his father, who stole just 19 bases during his 22-year career.

“I truly believe, as much as he loves the offensive side, when he reaches first base, to watch him run the bases is special,” the elder Thome told MLB.com. “He wants to score, wants to change the game on the bases with a very aggressive impact.”

“I always say this about Jim Thome,” said Shirley of Jim and Landon, "he’s the happiest baseball player I ever played with, and behind that exterior was a guy who was so competitive and relentless. I think Landon has those traits.”

On defense, Thome is unlikely to remain at shortstop as a pro, or even in college, given his limited quickness and average throwing arm. But scouts say he has improved his movement and throwing after working with the Padres' Jake Cronenworth in the offseason, meaning he could be a better fit at second or third base.