Roch Cholowsky didn’t linger long after going No. 1 in the MLB draft. The UCLA shortstop and the Chicago White Sox have reportedly already locked in a record-setting deal, with Cholowsky landing a $10.35 million signing bonus, according to MLB.com.
That figure comes in about $1 million below the slot value for the pick, but it still clears the previous high by $1.1 million. Before Cholowsky, the record belonged to Cincinnati Reds pitcher Chase Burns and Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Condon, who each signed for $9.25 million after being taken second and third in the 2024 draft.
The White Sox had not held the No. 1 pick since 1977, when they selected Hall of Fame right fielder Harold Baines. On Sunday afternoon at Rate Field, Cholowsky met that history in person, throwing a ceremonial first pitch to Baines.
Cholowsky’s connection to Chicago wasn’t built in a day. He visited the city in early June, spent time with White Sox coaches, players, front office staff and owner Jerry Reinsdorf, and watched Braden Montgomery launch a walk-off homer in his major-league debut. The next morning, Cholowsky said he called his agent and told him, “That’s where I want to be.”
The 21-year-old may not be there for long. The Athletic’s draft expert Keith Law said Cholowsky “should move quickly through the low minors,” and his pre-draft evaluation was glowing.
Cholowsky hit .320/.452/.636 as a junior at UCLA, with 21 home runs in 60 games. Law called him “a polished shortstop with power and excellent instincts on both sides of the ball” and wrote: “Barring injury, I don’t see a world where he’s not at least an everyday MLB shortstop who hits 15-20 homers - his ceiling is 25-30 homers with a high OBP - and he’ll play plus defense in any scenario.”
There were some questions, though, after his production dipped during his junior year following a sophomore season that featured a 1.190 OPS. White Sox general manager Chris Getz addressed that concern and said the club was comfortable with what it found “under the hood.”
Cholowsky also comes from a baseball family. His father, Dan, was a first-round pick himself, going No. 39 to the St.
Louis Cardinals in 1991. A versatile defender, Dan Cholowsky played every position on the diamond over eight minor league seasons with the Cardinals, Chicago Cubs and Rockies, and now works as an area scout for the Reds.
Chicago added another notable name to its draft class the day before the draft, trading for the No. 34 pick and pushing its bonus pool to a record total of nearly $20.5 million. The White Sox used that selection on high school shortstop Landon Thome, the son of Hall of Famer Jim Thome, who is now a special assistant to Getz. The Thomes also took part in a ceremonial first pitch Sunday.
Teams have until 5 p.m. ET on July 27 to finalize deals with their draft picks.
“At the end of the day, we were most comfortable with Roch Cholowsky with our first pick,” Getz said, “regardless of what the signing bonus was going to be.”
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