Finally, Some Good News: White Sox Land No. 1 Pick In 2026
If you’re a fan of the Chicago White Sox, you’ve probably spent the last few years (decades?) staring into the abyss, wondering if the baseball gods have a personal vendetta against you. Between the “rebuilds” that never seem to build anything and the on-field product that often resembles a Double-A squad on a bad day, it’s been rough. But hey, dry those tears and put down the Malört, because the sun has actually decided to shine.
The Chicago White Sox have won the 2026 MLB Draft Lottery. Yes, you read that right. They didn’t trade it away for a washed-up reliever. They didn’t lose it due to some obscure rule infraction. They actually won something.
A Rare Stroke Of Luck On the South Side
It happened on a Tuesday night at the Winter Meetings, a place usually reserved for the White Sox to watch other teams sign big-name free agents while they announce a minor league deal with a utility infielder you haven’t thought about since 2019. But this time, the spotlight was on them for a good reason.
Former Sox legend Harold Baines was on stage as the lucky charm. Maybe it was the Baines magic, or maybe the ping pong balls just felt sorry for a team that went 60-102 in 2025. Then again, the White Sox were so bad they didn’t sweep a team till July. Either way, the White Sox beat the odds—specifically, the27.73% odds they had entering the night—and secured the very first pick in next summer’s draft.
General Manager Chris Getz, looking like a man who just found a twenty-dollar bill in an old coat pocket, tried to play it cool on the MLB Network broadcast. “I can’t understate how big a deal this is,” Getz said. “It’s an honor, it’s a huge responsibility.”
Who Is Roch Cholowsky?
Naturally, the conversation immediately shifts to who the White Sox will take with this golden ticket. If the draft happened tomorrow (it doesn’t, it happens in July, so plenty of time for things to get weird), the consensus No. 1 pick is Roch Cholowsky.
If you don’t follow college baseball religiously, here is the scoop: Cholowsky is a shortstop from UCLA who seems to be playing a different sport than everyone else. As a sophomore, the kid hit .353 with 23 homers. He won pretty much every award you can win without being literally handed the keys to the city. He’s 6-foot-2, plays elite defense, and has the kind of baseball pedigree scouts drool over—his dad was a pro player, too.
Final Thoughts
Of course, this is the White Sox we are talking about. The history of draft picks here is… let’s call it “varied.” But Cholowsky feels like the kind of no-brainer that even this front office can’t overthink. Then again, other names are floating around like high school phenom Grady Emerson or Alabama’s Justin Lebron. But right now, all eyes are on the kid from UCLA.
