The Chicago White Sox didn’t just add another prospect on Saturday. They landed the kind of player who can shape the middle of a lineup for years.
Roch Cholowsky went No. 1 overall in the Major League Baseball Draft, and the UCLA star now looks like the shortstop of the future in Chicago. The White Sox had visited with him a couple of weeks before the draft, and Cholowsky wanted this outcome badly: he wanted to go first, and he wanted it to be the White Sox. When MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced the pick, tears of joy streamed down Cholowsky’s face.
That moment capped a tense stretch before the selection meeting, when Texas schoolboy Grady Emerson seemed like a possible threat to jump ahead of Cholowsky. In the end, Chicago stayed with the player who had spent much of the season projected at No. 1.
Now the real work begins, and the White Sox have every reason to believe Cholowsky can move fast. The modern game has shown that elite talent no longer has to spend forever in the minors before reaching the big leagues.
Jackson Holliday went No. 1 in the 2022 draft and debuted a year later. Paul Skenes, the top pick in 2023, started the All-Star Game for the National League in 2024 and ’25.
Travis Bazzana, taken first in 2024, is already a regular for Stephen Vogt’s Guardians.
That’s the lane Cholowsky is stepping into. Chicago believes he can hit, hit for power, field like a potential Gold Glove winner and run.
The expectation is that he’ll get his chance early in the 2027 season, possibly right out of spring training. There is one wrinkle: a potential labor stoppage could affect his first game for the White Sox.
Still, barring a season-long strike or lockout, the prediction is that Cholowsky debuts in 2027.
The defensive profile is clean and straightforward. He’s viewed as a solid fielder who should grow into an excellent shortstop, the kind who can go into the hole, make the tough pickup and fire a strong throw to first. He also has the presence to take charge on the infield and lead from there.
But Chicago didn’t take him first overall because of the glove alone. Cholowsky’s bat is the real draw.
He can drive the ball from gap to gap, and the power is real enough to change games. Last season at UCLA, he hit .320/.453/.636 with 21 home runs and 60 RBI in 60 games.
In 2025, he was even better, blasting 23 homers and driving in 75. With his bat speed and ability to get on top of the high pitch, he should be able to approach or top 30 home runs early in his White Sox career.
That kind of pop matters in Chicago. The White Sox spent the past three seasons losing 100-plus games, and one of the biggest issues was the lack of offense.
They struggled to score, couldn’t consistently erase deficits late, and simply didn’t have enough power. They ranked 23rd in home runs last year and 30th in 2024.
This season has already looked different. The White Sox are fourth in Major League Baseball with 129 home runs in 95 games, trailing only the New York Yankees, Washington Nationals and Houston Astros. They’ve hit two more homers than the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers.
And the lineup is only getting deeper. Chicago already has young talent, solid pitching and the home run punch of Japanese import Munetaka Murakami.
Colston Montgomery, Miguel Vargas, Sam Antonacci and Kyle Teel are also part of the group expected to anchor the future. Add Cholowsky to that mix, and manager Will Venable should have another middle-of-the-order bat to lean on.
The White Sox have high hopes for 2026, but the bigger picture is even more intriguing. With Cholowsky and Murakami in the fold, the power ceiling in Chicago suddenly looks a lot higher.
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For Chicago, the bigger intrigue is how this new setup will play for the clubs own entrant, especially with the Derby landing in a year when the field includes names like Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber and a $1 million prize is on the line. The format adds a different kind of pressure from the start, since every swing matters more than ever, and the White Sox will be watching closely to see whether the new structure helps or hurts their chances once the competition begins. [Read more 🡒]