The first round of the 2026 MLB draft delivered a little of everything on Saturday: a top pick for the White Sox, a rare run on position players early, and a family name that will get plenty of attention in Chicago.
The biggest headline belonged to the White Sox, who used the No. 1 selection on UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky after narrowing their choices down to three players. Cholowsky arrives with a strong college résumé, having won Big Ten Conference Baseball Player of the Year honors in each of the last two seasons and finished as a finalist for the 2026 Golden Spikes Award, which goes to the best amateur player in the country. At 21, he’s now positioned as a major part of Chicago’s future, and the next question is how fast he moves through the minors.
Chicago wasn’t done making noise in the first round, either. With the 34th pick, the White Sox grabbed high school shortstop Landon Thome, the son of Hall of Famer Jim Thome.
One of the more surprising developments came early, where pitching was hard to find. Only one pitcher came off the board in the first 10 picks: UC Santa Barbara right-hander Jackson Flora, who went No. 4 to the San Francisco Giants. The 21-year-old California native had been widely seen as the top pitching prospect in the draft.
That trend stretched a bit further when the Los Angeles Angels took Jared Grindlinger, a two-way high school player, at No. 12.
The Angels announced the 17-year-old as an outfielder, though he could also work as a left-handed pitcher later on. Even if he’s counted on the mound, that would still leave just two pitchers taken through the first 15 selections.
The draft also produced a notable teammate pairing near the top. Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey went third to the Minnesota Twins, and Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress followed at No. 8 to the Athletics. According to MLB Pipeline, that made them the 15th set of teammates to be drafted within the first 10 picks of the same draft.
Another family connection surfaced at No. 14, where the Miami Marlins selected high school shortstop Jacob Lombard. He’s the younger brother of George Lombard Jr., the New York Yankees’ No. 1 prospect, who went 26th in 2023. This time, the younger Lombard got the higher draft slot - and the bragging rights that come with it.
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Kemp is the nephew of former major leaguer Matt Kemp, which gives the pick a little extra intrigue for a franchise that knows plenty about facing that surname in the division. The catch is that Kemp is committed to Oklahoma University, so the Giants will have some work to do if they want to turn the selection into an actual signing. [Read more 🡒]
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The bigger question now is how much of that upside actually makes it into the system. Late-round picks always come with a layer of uncertainty, and for San Francisco the appeal is obvious: if even one of these players develops the way their college production suggests, the draft could look a lot deeper than it did on paper on day one. [Read more 🡒]
Luis Arraez Just Sent Giants Fans A Clear Message About His Future
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The timing matters now, with only a couple of weeks after the All-Star break before early August forces the front office to make a call. For a Giants team trying to balance the present and the future, Arraez has become the kind of player contenders monitor closely, because his value could help shape the next phase of the roster if San Francisco decides to listen. [Read more 🡒]