White Sox Take UCLA Shortstop No. 1 as Possible Changes to MLB Draft Loom

PHILADELPHIA — With the No. 1 pick in what could be the last MLB draft of its type, the White Sox selected UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky on Saturday afternoon at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. 

The White Sox, winners of the draft lottery last offseason, opted for the more secure route in taking the back-to-back Big Ten player of the year. Chicago also seriously considered taking Texas high school shortstop Grady Emerson, who instead went to the Rays with the second overall pick. 

Cholowsky, expected since late last year to be the top overall pick, will be in line for a $11.35 million signing bonus. The White Sox, however, have some latitude within their overall $20.49 million bonus pool to go above or below that individual slot value for Cholowsky—to either help get a contract done or to save money to aid in deals with other draft picks. 

The White Sox have been one of the more notable stories of the 2026 MLB season so far, rebounding from three consecutive 100-loss seasons that included a MLB-record 121-loss campaign in 2024. Entering Saturday’s games, Chicago is now in a virtual tie with the Guardians for the AL Central division lead. 

Cholowsky is the first Bruin to be picked first in the MLB draft since the Pirates selected Gerrit Cole, now with the Yankees, at that position in 2011. 

Chicago boosted their draft pool to that $20.49 million after also acquiring the No. 34 pick in a late Friday trade with Pittsburgh. That selection is part of competitive balance rounds held directly after the first and second rounds, and those competitive balance picks are the only ones that can be traded under current MLB rules. 

This year’s MLB draft could be the last one of its kind, depending on the outcome of ongoing labor negotiations between MLB and the MLB Players Association. 

MLB owners recently proposed significantly altering the draft rules to implement hard slots for signing bonuses, slash the overall bonus pool by about half, have fewer rounds, and most dramatically, make all teenaged players born in the U.S. ineligible until they turn 20. 

Not surprisingly, the union has strongly resisted the offer from team owners. 

If management ultimately prevails, picks such as the 18-year-old Emerson would become a thing of the past. So, too, would the prospect of any future player joining the annals of Hall of Famers such as Mickey Mantle, Ken Griffey Jr., and Bob Feller, who debuted in the majors as teenagers. 

MLB continues its efforts to elevate the draft as a fan event after more ambitious productions staged last year in Atlanta and two years ago in Texas. 

A new scheduling format for the run of overall All-Star Game events shifted the draft from a prior position in Sunday primetime to this new one beginning Saturday afternoon. 

That change helped allow a continuous run of ballpark events Sunday through Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park. The new timing, however, also places the draft in competition for viewers with several MLB games also happening Saturday. The draft setting was aimed at complementing the MLB All-Star Village fan festival, also held at the convention center. 

NBC and Peacock aired the start of this year’s MLB draft as part of a new rights deal that has seen the Comcast-owned outlets increasingly flex their relationship with the league. 

No. 1 MLB draft picks have increasingly become MLB stars, including Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (2023), Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday (2022), and Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson. The 2024 top pick, the Guardians’ Travis Bazzana, recently made his MLB debut. 

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, meanwhile, received loud boos from attending fans, similar to the reception he received in prior years. The situation was not helped by his on-stage mispronunciation of Cholowsky’s name. 

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