The White Sox have stumbled into a rare kind of summer gift.
At 47-44 and sitting atop the American League Central, Chicago has already outperformed expectations. But the bigger surprise might be sitting at the top of the draft board: the No. 1 overall pick, a spot the franchise hasn’t held since 1997, when it took Harold Baines.
And if the White Sox are going to use that pick wisely, the choice should be simple even if the roster fit is not.
For most of the high school and college season, the draft conversation has centered on two shortstops. UCLA’s Roch Cholowsky has been the name most often tied to Chicago in mock drafts, while Texas prep shortstop Grady Emerson has also been viewed by some as the top option.
Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer couldn’t separate the two, but his message to the White Sox was clear: don’t overthink the position.
"The White Sox already have a good shortstop in Colson Montgomery. And in Caleb Bonemer, their No. 1 prospect also plays shortstop.
As such, do they dare buck expectations and not choose Roch Cholowsky or Grady Emerson? They could... but they shouldn't.
Those two are the best prospects this class has to offer, and the White Sox don't pick against until No. 41 anyway. The best play is to take one or the other and worry about the positional surplus later."
That’s the crux of it. Chicago already has Montgomery at short and Bonemer in the system, but Cholowsky and Emerson are considered too talented to let pass. With the White Sox not back on the clock until No. 41, the safer move is the one that brings the best player, even if the depth chart gets crowded later.
In Other News...
White Sox Prospect May Be Turning A Hot Streak Into Something Real
Jairo Iriartes June was strong enough to earn him White Sox minor league Pitcher of the Month honors, and the bigger reason for the surge may be what he has done with his arsenal along the way. The right-hander has been working in a two-seamer and a harder, shorter slider, part of a broader effort to sharpen the mix that has helped him settle in as hes climbed from Double-A to Triple-A.
For Iriarte, the progress also comes with a little edge. He has talked about how the early stretch in Birmingham served as a wakeup call, the kind that can either rattle a young pitcher or give him a reason to push harder, and he clearly chose the second path. Around the system, there is plenty of attention on the months other standouts too, including Boston Smith, who singled out reliever Mathias LaCombe as someone with the kind of stuff that keeps getting noticed. [Read more 🡒]
Tim Elko Just Gave White Sox Fans A Reason To Hope Again
Tim Elko is finally moving toward game action again, with the White Sox sending the first baseman out on a rehab assignment as he works his way back from the knee injury that wiped out his 2026 season. For a club still sorting through its long-term infield picture, any step forward from a player who has already spent time in the majors carries a little extra weight, especially when it comes after a winter of uncertainty.
Elkos path back has been a reminder that his White Sox story is still unfinished. He struggled in his first big league stint, then stayed in the organization on a minor league deal after the team non-tendered him this winter, so this rehab stint is less about a polished return than a chance to see whether there is still something worth building on. The next question is how he looks once he starts facing real competition again. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Farm Update Suddenly Has Real Meaning For The Big Club
Wednesdays Triple-A, Double-A and High-A box scores offered the kind of farm-system snapshot that usually gets tucked away until later, but this one carried a little more weight for the White Sox. Charlotte, Birmingham and Winston-Salem all had something worth noting, from David Sandlins steady work on the mound to a loud offensive night in the lower minors, giving the organization a fuller picture of where some of its depth is trending.
Winston-Salems 15-9 win over Asheville was the loudest result of the bunch, with Ryan Burrowes and George Wolkow both going deep as the Dash kept stacking traffic on the bases. Birminghams 3-2 loss to Columbus was tighter and more frustrating, especially after the Barons out-hit the Clingstones but couldnt turn that into enough runs. For a big-league club looking for help, nights like this matter because they show which players are forcing their way into the conversation and which parts of the system still need more time. [Read more 🡒]