White Sox announce signing of first-round pick Jake Burger

MINNEAPOLIS — The White Sox announced the signing of third baseman Jake Burger, their first-round draft pick, on Wednesday. Selected No. 11 overall out of Missouri State, Burger agreed to an under-slot bonus of $3.7 million.

The Sox, who put an emphasis on impact bats with their early picks, also signed Wake Forest first baseman Gavin Sheets to an above-slot deal.

Burger “has a great mix of power and discipline at the plate, and he is a high-character guy who will fit nicely into the organization going forward,” general manager Rick Hahn said.

Burger was the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and was a semifinalist for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award. A likely scenario is an introduction to the media in the next few days, perhaps Monday, followed by a short stint in the Arizona League and then on to Kannapolis, the Sox’ low-Class A affiliate.

“Playing professional baseball for the team I grew up rooting for is truly a dream come true,” said Burger, from Chesterfield, Missouri.

“I am extremely fortunate to wear the White Sox uniform and excited to begin the next phase of my baseball career.”

The Sox save some money with the Burger signing. The slot value for that pick was $4,199,200. Sheets, though, signed above slot for $2 million, according to Baseball America. The slot for that pick (49th) was $1,392,200.

Third-round center fielder Luis Gonzalez and fifth-round right-hander Tyler Johnson of South Carolina also signed.

Not a Chicago homer

Jose Abreu hasn’t homered at home yet, but he stands a good chance of getting one at Guaranteed Rate Field with the longest homestand of the season, 10 games, starting this weekend.

Abreu hit his 12th homer Tuesday at Target Field, breaking Tom Paciorek’s club record of 11 on the road to start a season. His last homer at home was Sept. 15 against the Indians. The Sox will have played 27 of their first 71 games at home when they get back to Chicago on Friday.

Abreu has hit 57 homers on the road and 46 at home in his career, but he has hit for a higher average (.315 to .287) and OPS (.894 to .855) at home. Aside from the low number of games at Guaranteed Rate Field, a hitters’ park, Abreu can’t explain why he hasn’t homered there.

“Baseball is hard, and they’re going to come soon,’’ he said.

“When we get back to Chicago, more opportunities are going to come.’’

Abreu took a six-game RBI streak, tied for his career high, into the game against the Twins and had reached base in 16 consecutive games.

This and that

Infielder-outfielder Grant Green was signed and assigned to Class AAA Charlotte. Green appeared in 40 games for the Syracuse Chiefs this year and has played in 129 games in parts of five seasons with the Nationals, Angels, Giants and Athletics.

† Probables for the A’s series this weekend: Friday, Mike Pelfrey; Saturday, James Shields; Sunday, Derek Holland.

† Mark Buehrle’s 9-year-old son, Braden, will sing the national anthem Saturday, when Buehrle’s No. 56 will be retired.

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Email: dvanschouwen@suntimes.com