Editing Aaron Rowand (section)

===Draft and minor leagues===
In 1998, Rowand was selected by the [[Chicago White Sox]] in the first round (35th pick) of the [[1998 Major League Baseball draft|draft]].<ref name="brstats" /> He started his professional career that season with the [[Single-A (baseball)|Single-A]] [[Hickory Crawdads]] of the [[South Atlantic League]]. Playing 61 games for the club, he batted .342, hitting five home runs and recording 32 RBI. The following year, he played his first full professional season with the [[Class A-Advanced|Single-A advanced]] [[Winston-Salem Warthogs]] of the [[Carolina League]], batting .279 in 133 games. He led the team in doubles (37), home runs (24), and RBI (88).<ref name="path to the pros"/>

In 2000, Rowand played for the [[Double-A (baseball)|Double-A]] [[Birmingham Barons]] of the [[Southern League (1964–2020)|Southern League]]. He hit 20 home runs and recorded 98 RBI while playing in 139 games. According to Brittany Ghiroli of [[MLB.com]], "By spring 2001, the future [[National League (baseball)|National League]] [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] looked primed to break through to the big leagues."<ref name="path to the pros"/> Rowand began the year with the [[Triple-A (baseball)|Triple-A]] [[Charlotte Knights]] of the [[International League]], where through the middle of June he had 16 home runs and 48 RBI in 62 games.<ref name="path to the pros"/>