White Sox fans may not have to wait long to see Roch Cholowsky in Chicago.
The top pick in the 2026 MLB draft already carries the kind of college résumé that turns heads everywhere: two Big Ten Player of the Year awards, a 2026 Golden Spikes Award finalist nod, and a monstrous final line of .320/.452/.636 with 74 hits, 73 runs scored, 60 RBIs, 10 doubles and 21 home runs. The White Sox made him the No. 1 overall selection, and MLB Pipeline has his ETA at 2027. There’s even a real possibility he could be pushing to take over at shortstop by midseason.
That kind of profile comes with big expectations, and Chicago did not exactly draft him to be just another prospect. The 21-year-old signed for a $10.35 million bonus, and the White Sox are clearly betting on more than solid production.
They’re looking for a player who can grow into a centerpiece. At 6-2 and 202 pounds, with a bat that already looks close to major league ready, Cholowsky fits the mold of a player who can move fast.
That matters because the shortstop picture in Chicago has gotten more interesting than expected. Colson Montgomery, who finished fifth in the 2025 AL Rookie of the Year voting, has not matched his debut season.
As September nears, he’s hitting only .217. The power is still there - his 26 home runs rank third on the team and place him among the American League leaders - but the average and on-base numbers have slipped.
Montgomery is still just 24, so this is not a reason to hit the alarm button, but it does make the arrival of a high-end shortstop prospect even more notable.
Cholowsky could also spend this offseason in the Arizona Fall League, which would keep him active and add to the buzz around his draft year. So far, he has reached Winston-Salem and likely won’t get to Double-A until early next season. Even so, if he performs the way his talent suggests, he has the kind of track to move quickly.
The White Sox have shown a willingness to promote young players aggressively, and they’ve built a reputation around that approach. With Cholowsky, don’t be surprised if that pattern holds again in 2027.
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