It’s still early, but a few White Sox 2026 draft picks have already given the organization something to watch.
Most of the class has yet to get into full pro game action. Prep selections Landon Thome and Cole Prosek spent the end of the summer at the team’s Arizona facility, but neither has reported to a minor league affiliate.
First overall pick Roch Cholowsky also won’t be back on the field in an extended way until 2027 after a wrist injury ended his season early. Even with that wait, a handful of draftees did get their first taste of pro ball before the season ended, and three of them made a quick impression.
Clay Burdette was one of the most eye-catching names right away. The Xavier outfielder went in the seventh round and became the highest-drafted player in school history, thanks to a rare mix of power and speed.
There were questions about his contact ability and strikeout totals, but the White Sox clearly liked what they saw. International Scouting Director David Keller said after watching Xavier against Georgia Tech that Burdette was the second-best player in that game behind Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey, who went third overall to Minnesota.
Burdette backed up the buzz in his debut run with Low-A Kannapolis, where he hit .274/.381/.481 in 29 games with two home runs, four doubles, six triples and 13 stolen bases. The strikeouts piled up too - 46 in 29 games - but the package is loud: speed, pop and the kind of athleticism you don’t see every day.
MLB Pipeline named Burdette the top early performer in the White Sox draft class, and he’ll try to keep rolling in 2027.
Braden Holcomb brought another power-forward profile into the system. The White Sox took the Vanderbilt outfielder in the 12th round, continuing their habit of betting on impact bats.
At 6-foot-4, Holcomb already looks the part, and his college production made him hard to ignore. As a junior, he led Vanderbilt with a .352 batting average, 60 hits, 19 doubles and 54 RBI, even if the home run total stayed at 14.
The thought here is simple: there’s more strength to come. He started his pro career in Low-A and hit .321 with two homers, six doubles and two triples in only 13 games.
Then, in the final week of the season, he earned a bump to High-A Winston-Salem and finished 2-for-8 with three RBI and a walk in two games. Holcomb is likely to open his age-22 season at High-A, and if the bat keeps producing, the upper levels might not be far off.
Then there’s Grayson Fitzwater, a 13th-round pick whose college stop at Virginia Military Institute may have kept him under the radar. The White Sox still saw enough to grab him in July, and his senior season gave the pick plenty of backing: a .325 average and 21 home runs after he had already posted 17 and 18 long balls in the previous two years.
He also arrived after slugging three homers in three games in the MLB Draft league this summer. Fitzwater carried that power into his first professional stint in Kannapolis, where he hit .271 with four homers and an .851 ERA in 29 games to close the year.
Like Holcomb and Burdette, he comes with the usual swing-and-miss questions, but the power is real, and the start was encouraging. If he keeps it going, he could move fast, with High-A looking like the likely starting point in 2027.
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The bigger questions are about continuity and health, especially with several pitchers heading toward free agency or trying to reestablish their place in the mix. Sean Newcomb stands out as the most prominent name in that group, while other returning arms and prospects give the Sox some internal alternatives if they decide to turn over the bullpen again. Mike Vasils recovery from elbow surgery adds another layer to the planning, since his eventual role could influence whether Chicago treats him as a starter or a leverage reliever once hes ready to return. [Read more 🡒]