Mathias Lacombe, a 20-year-old right-handed pitcher, will become the 13th baseball player born and developed in France to sign a professional contract. The Chicago White Sox drafted him out of Cochise College in the 12th round, selection No. 359, of the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft.
Lacombe is one of nine draftees born outside the USA or Canada. Three were born in Korea (third baseman Kevin Sim, Arizona Diamondbacks, first baseman Wooyeoul Shin, Tampa Bay Rays and shortstop B.Y. Choi-San, Diego Padres), two in the Dominican Republic (right-handed pitcher Jatok Diaz, Detroit Tigers and outfielder Raudi Rodriguez, Los Angeles Angels), one in Japan (second baseman Rikuu Nishida, White Sox), one in Venezuela (outfielder Nehomar Ochoa, Houston Astros) and one in Cuba (right-handed pitcher John Valle, New York Mets).
Sim, 20, drafted at No. 148 in the fifth round out of the University of San Diego, is the son of former Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) league Jong-Soo Shim, a gold glove outfielder who earned his nickname Hercules after hitting 328 home runs in 1,450 games with the Doosan Bears (1994-2000), Hyundai Unicorns (2001-2004) and Samsung Lions (2005-2008)
Two XXX WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup alumni, infielders Miles Naylor (No. 39 selection, Oakland A'S) and Sam Shaw (No. 274, Toronto Blue Jays), are among the nine Canadian players drafted.
