The White Sox added a familiar name to the draft board on Saturday, taking Landon Thome with the 34th overall pick and setting off the kind of reaction that makes baseball fans feel a little older than they’d like.
Landon is the son of Hall of Famer Jim Thome, whose career was built on the sort of left-handed power that still echoes in the minds of Guardians and White Sox fans alike. MLB Network put it plainly: “Landon Thome, son of Hall of Famer Jim Thome, is headed to the @whitesox with the 34th pick!”
Landon Thome, son of Hall of Famer Jim Thome, is headed to the @whitesox with the 34th pick!
📺 MLB Network pic.twitter.com/zQ0zpAAHHa
- MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) July 11, 2026
The 18-year-old shortstop comes out of Nazareth Academy in Illinois, and the fit with Chicago makes sense. Jim Thome is part of the White Sox front office and works alongside GM Chris Getz, so the organization had a clear line on him long before draft day.
For Cleveland fans, the name carries extra weight. Jim Thome is remembered most as a Guardian, but he also spent parts of four seasons with the White Sox, leaving a strong enough impression there that his son now lands in Chicago’s system.
Landon isn’t built exactly like his father, but the swing is familiar. Scouts have been drawn to the same kind of powerful left-handed stroke that made Jim Thome such a force.
The pick came as the Guardians were stretching their winning streak to three with Saturday’s victory over the Miami Marlins, with a chance to make it four straight on Sunday before the All-Star break. Cleveland’s win helped it keep pace with the White Sox, who have emerged as a real factor this season after their latest rebuild.
With the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers also picking up steam in recent weeks, the second half is shaping up with the division still wide open. Cleveland was much farther back at this point last year, while the White Sox were already done for, so the late-season matchup now carries a very different feel.
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