Chicago White Sox’s former first round pick gets a second chance with the Brewers

The Chicago White Sox have made this season about letting their young players play and gain experience, which has been successful thus far. The most recent prospect to join the young core already forming was shortstop Colson Montgomery, the White Sox’s fifth-best prospect.

Montgomery had a memorable debut weekend, making a fantastic over-the-shoulder catch in shallow left field and hitting a triple to record his first big league hit. Both proved exciting, as they showed what type of player the White Sox are getting in their young shortstop.

The downside (if there’s any) to allowing the young guys to come up and play is that players who were here prior now have the pressure to perform as their jobs are in jeopardy of being lost to the newfound talent. That already happened, as one former player had to be shipped out after he couldn’t get the job done, but he has found a second chance with his new team.

Former Chicago White Sox 1st round pick gets a second chance with the Brewers

Since the White Sox have fully embraced their rebuild and are allowing their young players to play, that meant that time was ticking on players like Andrew Vaughn to either put up or shut up, as their time with the team was likely coming to a close. Vaughn’s time came, with him failing to take the necessary step forward in his career and show that he was worth keeping around.

So, on June 13, the White Sox traded their once-promising first baseman to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for right-hander Aaron Civale, who had requested a trade after getting relegated to the bullpen. Vaughn was hitting .189/.218/.314 for an OPS and OPS+ of .531 and 47 in 48 games before getting traded. Upon getting traded, Vaughn was sent down to Triple-A, hitting .259/.338/.500 with an OPS of .838 in 16 games.

Thankfully for Vaughn, he’ll be getting a second chance to prove himself, with Sport Report Francys Romero reporting that the Brewers are calling Vaughn up after they had put first baseman Rhys Hoskins on the injured list.

“Andrew Vaughn was called up to MLB by the Milwaukee Brewers to fill the spot left by Rhys Hoskins, who was placed on the injured list, according to sources.

Vaughn, 27, was hitting .189 with 5 home runs in 48 games for the White Sox to start the 2025 season.”

Andrew Vaughn was called up to MLB by the Milwaukee Brewers to fill the spot left by Rhys Hoskins, who was placed on the injured list, according to sources.

Vaughn, 27, was hitting .189 with 5 home runs in 48 games for the White Sox to start the 2025 season.

— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) July 6, 2025

Vaughn’s sad tenure with the White Sox

Vaughn’s five seasons with the White Sox did not go as they had hoped, especially after being selected third overall in the first round of the 2019 MLB Draft. Vaughn was an average to below-average player at times, with a career slash line of .248/.303/.407 for an OPS and OPS+ of .709 and 97 in 610 games.

Vaughn was supposed to be one of the key members of the White Sox’s first rebuild and was here for the tiny window of success that the White Sox saw in 2021. That sadly didn’t happen, and this season proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, with Vaughn barely hitting close to .200 and having a negative WAR. Hopefully, as with all the other players who leave the White Sox, Vaughn will find himself and start having more success.