The top-ranked position player out of high school by Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus, Vitters was named the Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year for California in 2007. In his senior season, Vitters batted .390 with nine homers and 29 RBI in 24 games with Cypress, boasting an .890 slugging percentage.
Among all draft-eligible high school players, Baseball America selected Vitters as the best pure hitter in the 2007 Draft and also rated him as the second-best power hitter and owner of the second-best strike-zone judgment. Among all high school pitchers and position players nationwide, Baseball America listed Vitters as the player closest to playing in the major leagues.
As a junior in 2006, Vitters batted .352 with nine homers and 32 RBI, and was a 2006 Aflac All-American and a First-Team All-State selection. Last summer, Vitters was named the Most Valuable Player of the Baseball Express Cape Cod High School Classic held in Wareham, Mass.
His older brother, Christian, was drafted by Oakland in the 10th round of last year’s draft and currently plays for the Single-A Kane County Cougars.
Overall, Chicago has signed 33 of its 50 picks from the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, including 19 of its first 20 and 23 of its first 25 picks.