CHICAGO –– The White Sox second-round draft pick worked out ideally for both parties.

The player, Jaden Fauske, grew up a White Sox fan in Willowbrook, Ill., and called it a dream come true to be drafted by his favorite team. The White Sox have known of the Nazareth Academy graduate for a long time, and hoped he’d fall into their laps with the 44th overall pick.

“Our [research and development] department, along with [director of hitting] Ryan Fuller, they were super excited about Jaden as this thing began,” director of amateur scouting Mike Shirley said. “The meetings started last week, and everyone thought Jaden was one of the best prep left-handed hitters in the class. So the ability to capture him was super exciting as a whole.”

It’s almost like it was meant to be for Fauske. His father and brother, Jake, who’s eight years older, are both diehard White Sox fans. They passed that on to Jaden, who listed childhood favorites like Adam Eaton, Alexei Ramirez, José Abreu, Tim Anderson and Avisail García.

Jaden, who has frequently attended games, had an opportunity to be the bat boy during White Sox batting practice when he was around 10 or 11 years old. He recalled getting autographs, catching a ball from Bobby Jenks and aspiring to be in their shoes one day.

“To see that materialize,” Fauske said. “It means everything.”

Along with Fauske’s skill set, Shirley is proud to draft a local kid.

“I’ve said all along, local kids, we feel they have the ability, the White Sox are going to be in there. This is our city, man,” Shirley said. “We believe in the people that live here. He’s a fan, he’s a White Sox fan. We’re not taking anything for granted, we think these players are worthy of this opportunity to be with us, so why not put them in their hometown. And I’m excited to have another hometown kid on the resume.”

On the field, Jaden drew inspiration from his brother, who played baseball at the University of Chicago. Going to tournaments and noting Jake’s hard work, Jaden wanted to follow in his footsteps from a young age. By the summer after his sophomore year of high school, Jaden was playing on the national circuit and realized he could turn baseball into a full-time job.

The White Sox got an up-close look at Fauske during the Area Code Games, a six-day showcase in California with eight regional teams that produced 18 first-round picks in 2024. Fauske played for the White Sox Area Codes team the last two years, competing against teams represented by six other MLB franchises.

“It’s foundational for us,” Shirley said. “You see them in the dugout, in real live action. We get to coach them for a week in California. It gives us a lot of insight into what the player’s makeup is, how they handle the adversity, jumping into that big time environment. You get personal with them. This kid can really do it. To land him tonight, it’s a great opportunity for us.”

Going into the Area Code Games last summer, Shirley recalled White Sox personnel telling him that Fauske was going to be the best hitter of the group. Shirley bought into the bat, but they weren’t sure where Fauske would land positionally. A shoulder injury limited his ability to catch that summer, and Shirley left California thinking Fauske’s run tool wasn’t where it needed to be.

Fauske took that to heart and changed his body, wanting to prove he could excel in center field and not just be a hitter who could play the outfield. Over the last year and a half, Fauske said he took small things more seriously, such as diet, hydration, getting better sleep and weightlifting.

He said he’s currently the leanest he’s ever been, without sacrificing exit velocity or bat speed despite dropping some weight. In turn, he increased his speed, mobility and explosiveness, which he believes translated to the field and changed his game. Fauske called baseball his passion, so it wasn’t difficult to find motivation to make these improvements. It’s something he wakes up and loves to do.

Shirley said he couldn’t believe how well Fauske ran when he saw him about six weeks ago.

“The body development, the strength development,” Shirley said. “If you go watch him, how the approach in BP, stays on balls the other way. He’s not trying to turn and burn too much. He really likes to stay in the lane with his hands, control the barrel. And then what you see in the game is he’s able to take his approach in BP and really apply it to his game action. You just don’t see that enough in high school hitters.”

“So I think the maturity level, his approach and how he actually applies it to the game is one thing. When you think about these high school guys, it’s one thing if you identify the tool. It’s another thing how the tool actually applies to the maturity of the game today. He’s able to take the tools he’s worked his ass off to accomplish, and he actually applies them to the game really well. That’s the exciting part for us.”

Watching that transformation up close was former White Sox slugger and Hall of Famer Jim Thome, who was in the White Sox draft room and whose son, Landon, was teammates with Fauske at Nazareth.

Thome candidly didn’t know how a move from catcher to center field would work out, but Fauske took it in stride.

“Did very well,” Thome said. “He got his body in really good shape, was moving really good in the spring and it carried on. For me –– and this is a compliment to the kid –– I don’t know where he eventually ends up defensively, but athletic wise, he’s so talented athletically that it could be a variety of different spots quite honestly. That’s going to be the fun part for us, for our organization, to break that down and figure it out.”

Shirley said the White Sox will most likely start Fauske in center field to begin his minor league career. He left the door open to a move back to catcher, though Shirley wants to be mindful of protecting Fauske’s bat and making it as productive as possible, knowing that the catching position can negatively affect a player’s hit tool. He also liked Fauske’s response to discussions of his defensive ability.

“You know what the best part is? You know what Jaden Fauske said? ‘I’ll do whatever you need me to do.’ That’s the best part, right,” Shirley said. “That you have players that are willing to do whatever it takes to be pros and believe in themselves.”

The hit tool has stood out the most to Thome, who thinks Fauske has a chance to have “really, really good power” at the next level.

“I love the kid,” Thome said. “Hard worker. Extremely talented left-handed bat. Athlete. Football player at Naz. Really really good family. Just a wonderful kid. Loves baseball. Loves to work. And is really talented. I think this kid is going to keep getting better and better and it’s exciting to be around him and to be able to be around him for the last three years, it’s just been a joy and a pleasure.”

“As a player that’s played a long time, the enjoyment for me is you do what you do to help kids to maybe give them little tidbits here and there and then they take them. Whether they run with them or not, it’s so rewarding to be able to just say ‘Hey, man. We worked together, we spent a lot of time in the cages,’ and the kid is really really talented with the bat in his hand. It’s fun.”

Fauske is thankful for Thome’s guidance.

“Having Jim in my corner was a blessing,” Fauske said. “Obviously he’s still going to be in my corner. So very grateful for that. Learned a lot from him, how to handle yourself, be a good person on and off the field.”

“He’s the most humble person you’ll ever meet. He’s never, unless you’re picking his brain, he’s never bringing up anything like [his career]. He still hits BP sometimes. He had a fungo bat and he was just launching balls into the forest. I feel like he can still probably hit 20 homers if he wanted to play right now.”

Shirely called Thome a “tremendous asset” and part of the White Sox family, as he gave them valuable insight that the team needed to know before making the selection. Shirley has a lot of respect for Thome, who’s able to balance his coaching and personal relationship with Fauske alongside the advice he gives to the White Sox.

“When you do the job that we do,” Thome said. “As far as the White Sox and you are a part of this, you give the information, you speak, but also in this is your heart. You’re working with a kid you think is really good, and there is that aspect of it too. So, that’s the fun part of me being retired is I get to be around such a great group of scouts, around Mike Shirley. [Chris] Getzy and I, we communicate a lot about players I’ve seen when I go out and see them. It’s very rewarding to me to look at this situation and kind of say, ‘Man, it’s pretty special.’ He’s a local kid. But also he’s deserving of this opportunity and being in this spot. That’s what’s great.”

Fauske has experienced plenty of success at the high school level. As a senior, he posted a .461 batting average and a .597 on-base percentage with six home runs, 36 RBI, 31 runs and 29 stolen bases in 34 games. He also earned a spot on the 2024 Dick’s Sporting Goods All-American Classic and Prep Baseball All-American Game rosters, and was committed to LSU.

After being part of a Nazareth Academy program that won state titles in 2022 and 2023, he hopes to replicate that on a higher level with the team he grew up rooting for.

“Winning’s the best feeling. There’s nothing better than that,” Fauske said. “I was born in 2006, one year [after] the White Sox won it, so we want to bring that back to Chicago.”