by Sports Xchange

The Sox did not announce details of the deal, but it was believed to be in the $1.2 million range. He was scheduled to make his professional debut with Class A Kannapolis on Thursday, and the Sox hope to groom the speedy outfielder into a top-of-the-order type player.

"I'm trying to get out there as soon as possible and get back into the swing of things," Mitchell said of his visit to the South Side. "Being around here brings that feeling back. It makes you want to get back out there."

Mitchell, who hit .348 with two home runs and seven RBI in LSU's run to the College World Series title, hopes he can be on the kind of fast track that already has landed third baseman Gordon Beckham in the majors. Beckham was the Sox's first-round pick last year and played almost 50 games before getting the call to the majors earlier this season.

"That's the plan -- try to help the team out in as many ways as I can and try to be a force in this lineup," Mitchell said.

Beckham played college ball at Georgia and also was in the CWS last season. Their teams faced each other in the Southeastern Conference.

"I met him a couple of times," Mitchell said. "He's a nice guy."

Mitchell also played football for LSU, as Sox general manager Ken Williams did at Stanford. That came up several times when the two spoke.

"We talked about that a little bit, how we took similar roads," he said.

As far as an expected arrival date for Mitchell, the Sox aren't planning for another Beckham-like climb, simply because Mitchell was a two-sport athlete and is still relatively inexperienced in baseball.

Considering they do have their last two first-round picks on the big-league roster, however, it shows they are not afraid to promote whoever deserves it.

WHITE SOX 5, INDIANS 1: It was the Paul Konerko show in Tuesday's win, and a day later it was Jermaine Dye's chance to carry the Sox. Dye went 3-for-4 with three RBI on a night when the Sox rested DH Jim Thome.

That was more than enough for starting pitcher Jose Contreras, who went 6 1/3 innings, allowing just one run while fanning nine. Contreras is 4-7 after starting the season 0-5.