MLB draft 2026: Butler ace Kyle Casteel goes to Chicago White Sox in 11th round, has decision to make
Following a stellar senior season at Butler, senior pitcher Kyle Casteel was taken by the Chicago White Sox with the second pick in the 11th round round (315th overall) of the 2026 MLB Draft on Sunday.
Casteel, who’s been training with West Virginia University baseball team, was ranked as the draft’s No. 162 overall prospect by MLB.com.
“That was definitely awesome,” said Casteel, who was watching with his parents and older brother; his older sister was watching from her home in West Virginia. “You knew you did everything you could.”
The hard-throwing right-hander is the first Golden Tornado drafted out of high school since Jacob Cuffman, who the Pittsburgh Pirates took in the 14th round in 2003.
The best player to be drafted out of Butler High is Matt Clement, who became an All-Star pitcher. Clement retired in 2008 and went on to coach Butler’s boys basketball team before stepping away this spring and has served as the baseball team’s pitching coach for years.
Casteel called him an “inspiration.”
“He’s been my role model growing up,” he said. “He was one of the first ones to call me.”
Casteel went 10-0 with a 0.64 ERA, 103 strikeouts and 11 walks over 65.2 innings as a senior.
MLB.com’s scouting report grades his fastball a 50, slider 55, change-up 50 and control 50 with an overall grade of 45. Scouting grades are on a scale to 80. He can hit 95 mph with his fastball and typically sits around 92.
“Casteel’s combination of size, projection and improved pitchability had teams running to western Pennsylvania to get more looks at him,” MLB.com writes about Casteel. “It’s easy to dream about more to come as he fills out his (6-foot-4) frame. He has a slider that has the chance to be a true out pitch, mostly with three-quarters shape, depth and bite, though he can manipulate it into more of a slurve or a sweeper as he needs it. He doesn’t use his changeup much, but it has the chance to be a solid third offering with some fade.”
Some projections had him going in the top five rounds.
“That gets me excited,” Casteel said when he heard some of his scouting report read to him. “I know that I have the most potential to do it.
“Everything overall. Raising the floor is the biggest thing to me, and not really thinking you’re a finished product.”
Casteel now has to choose whether to turn pro right away or stick to his commitment to West Virginia. If he goes to college, he’ll be eligible for the MLB draft again in three years. The deadline is 5 p.m. July 27.
The White Sox have the highest bonus pool available to sign their draft picks, according to MLB.com, at $20.5 million.
Casteel didn’t not intimate where he’s leaning right now and called the process the past few months “chaotic.” He said his agent has taken the lead on the process, which can include talks about what kind of signing bonus and other incentives it would take for Casteel to skip college. He said he thought he might get picked a few rounds earlier, but he knew the White Sox had shown some of the strongest interest in him for a while and it was likely they’d take him at some point.
Casteel said he’s gonna “soak it in tonight,” though. While financials is part of the decision, he’ll also weigh where he thinks he he’ll receive the best development and training.
Tornado senior Nolan Stefaniak was also a prospect but was not selected after 20 rounds and will be eligible again in three years. Casteel has enjoyed going through the process with Stefaniak, but the two tried not to talk too much about the draft to not stress out their families more.
“We talk all the time,” Casteel said. “We really haven’t spoken too much about the draft. … At the same time we’re having fun, we’re cracking jokes.”
The pick came two rounds after former Golden Tornado catcher and pitcher David Leslie, out of the University of Pittsburgh, was taken 278th overall by the New York Yankees. Then in the 15th round, former Butler pitcher Madden Clement was taken by Kansas City.
