White Sox Take Cholowsky No. 1 in 2026 MLB Draft
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- White Sox selected Roch Cholowsky with the No. 1 overall pick; scouts compared him to Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman, projecting an everyday shortstop as soon as late 2027.
- Rays took high school shortstop Grady Emerson at No. 2, followed by the Twins selecting Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey at No. 3 and the Giants taking UC Santa Barbara pitcher Jackson Flora at No. 4.
- Orioles drafted Eric Booth Jr. at No. 7 — described as having "arguably the biggest upside in the draft" with potential 30/30 center field production, though evaluators say he needs a mechanical hitting adjustment.
- Braves went underslot with both first-round picks, taking AJ Gracia at No. 9 and Carter Beck at No. 26, then used the savings to grab prep RHP Jensen Hirschkorn in the third round at a rumored $3 million price tag.
- Trevor Condon, a shorter plus runner and plus hitter with strong center field defense, is the writer's "plant my flag" candidate as the draft's biggest steal — compared to 2023 first-rounder Kevin McGonigle.
- Draft depth thinned out beyond the top half-dozen players, driving a cluster of underslot moves in the 20s: Hughes (29th board, 17th pick), Schaffner (51st, 20th), Beck (69th, 26th) and Wiggins (89th, 27th) all jumped significantly up draft boards.
Why it matters: The Braves' double underslot play at picks 9 and 26 freed up enough bonus pool to land a rumored $3 million prep arm in round 3, a concrete return on their contrarian strategy — while the White Sox's safer, high-floor Cholowsky selection contrasts with the Orioles' high-upside Booth Jr. bet at No. 7, splitting Day 1's risk calculus between two franchise-building philosophies.
