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2026 White Sox MLB draft tracker
2026 White Sox MLB draft tracker
Hello, and welcome to the 2026 White Sox MLB draft tracker!
Below, you’ll find every pick the White Sox make, with links to our individual stories on site for the five picks in the first four rounds.
Right off the bat, the White Sox dispelled any notion that they would zag instead of zig, picking the longtime and near-universal No. 1 prospect in a top-heavy class, Roch Cholowsky.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhile last year was a “shortstop” draft, 2026 went hard for hitters, particularly outfielders (eight of the first 20 picks, and every pick from No. 5-9). Just three pitchers went in the Top 20, and just one arm (Jackson Flora, Giants, No. 4) before pick 18.
All of the first nine position player prospects this year (through pick No. 14) are shortstops. Getting deeper into the round, 12 of 21 picks were shortstops, still almost exclusively among position players.
On Day 2, the White Sox finally got their “first overall pick” vibe that shoulda/woulda been theirs in any other past draft, and at No. 106 did not quite take the top remaining talent on the board.
Note, all picks with breakout stories on site are linked below. Picks on Sunday (Rounds 5-20) who fall outside of MLB’s Top 250 without a truly distinguishing trait won’t have individual stories published on site, but merely will show up here on our tracker.
2026 MLB draftDay 1: Saturday, July 11 (Rounds 1-4)Noon-12:30 p.m. CT Preview show (NBC/Peacock)12:30-1:30 p.m. CT Lottery picks 1-10 (NBC/Peacock)1:30-3:30 p.m. CT Picks 11-40 (MLB Network, MLB.com, MLB.TV, MLB+)3:30-6:45 p.m. CT Picks 41-135 (MLB.com, MLB.TV, MLB+)
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDay 2: Sunday, July 12 (Rounds 5-20)10:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. CT Rounds 5-20 (MLB.com, MLB.TV, MLB+)
White Sox picksFirst Round (No. 1) Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLACholowsky was the consensus No. 1 pick pretty much since the end of last year’s draft, with an MLB-ready bat and glove. We could see him in Chicago as soon as September.
We’ll drop this into our draft signing tracker (up soon) as well, but Roch has passed his physical and signed for an all-time draft record of $10,350,000 (yes, that’s almost exactly 47% of the White Sox bonus pool — but less than the $11,350,600 slot).
Competitive Balance Round A (via Pirates) (No. 34) Landon Thome, 2B/3B, Nazareth Academy (Ill.)The White Sox telegraphed this pick with last night’s trade, as Thome was falling right around this slot in predraft rankings and the club did not want to gamble on him falling to their second-round pick (No. 41). Thome is likely to shift off of his prep spot, shortstop, as his hitting and speed are more advanced than his glove. Thome will quickly join Nazareth teammate Jaden Fauske, taken by the Sox in the second round a year ago, in Low-A Kannapolis.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSecond Round (No. 41) Cole Prosek, 2B, Magnolia Heights (Miss.) H.S.Prosek was ranked as the No. 27 talent in the draft, meaning that the White Sox snagged a first-round talent about a dozen picks lower than they should have. He and Thome both might take a bit of an over-slot offer to sign, but the White Sox have oodles of bonus money to wave their way. Prosek is another bat-first talent who can hold his own defensively, and the 18-year-old (turns 19 in three days) packs a wrinkle into his game — he just started playing catcher this past season.
Third Round (No. 77) Joey Volchko, RHSP, University of GeorgiaThe White Sox opt for an arm four picks in, grabbing this electric righty from Georgia. He’s a definite project, however, with some concerning contradictions: his mid-90s fastball (that can run up to 101 mph) has little movement and thereby is hittable, while his breaking stuff (splitter/change and curve) cannot be thrown for strikes. His upside remains a No. 2 or 3 starter, and the downside … not getting out of A-ball.
Fourth Round (No. 105) Eric Segura, RHP, Oregon State UniversitySegura is the first pick of the draft where the White Sox moved on a player ranked lower on the MLB draft board, as this righty was ranked just 196th by MLB Pipeline. Beyond this possibly being a cost-cutting pick to push some extra money at other selections, Segura seems to always outkick his coverage. He bulled his way into the Beavers rotation as a freshman hurler, and after a year in the pen ran with a rotation opportunity once more, improving his control and putting up a 2.22 ERA that was one of the 10 best in Division I.
Fifth Round (No. 137) Cal Scolari, RHP, University of OregonScolari has significant injury history — TJS wiped out his high school senior and college freshman seasons — but brings a powerful fastball (running up to 98 mph) to the system. His background screams reliever, but his solid mechanics and pitch mix put Scolari in the running for rotation work when the time comes for his pro debut.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSixth Round (No. 166) Alex Weingartner, OF, St. Augustine Prep (N.J.) H.S.Weingartner was a pitcher/shortstop as a prep, but the White Sox are drafting him to man the outfield, with an arm for right and the speed for center. He’s so fast, he broke a 60-yard dash record at a showcase this past offseason. There are questions regarding his ability to catch up to higher velocity in the pros, so the White Sox will be working on shortening Weingartner’s swing.
Seventh Round (No. 195) Clay Burdette, RF, Xavier UniversityBurdette has the raw tools of a first-day drafted player, but falls to Day 2 (and ranked just No. 248 by MLB) due to his swing-and-miss and selectivity issues. Evaluators see Burdette’s 50 Ks in 51 games in a baseball-soft conference like the Big East as a red flag. But otherwise, Burdette’s skills are off the charts, with 60 speed and some of the best exit velocities in all of Division I.
Eighth Round (No. 225) Jayson Jones, 3B, Wichita State UniversityIt took eight rounds for the White Sox to pick a player outside of MLB’s Top 250, and that reason is easily explainable: transience, and contact issues. Jones has played at three schools in four college years, never fully realizing his preposterous raw power. He’s a value pick with amazing upside given his strong arm and raw power. Jim Callis on the MLB draft broadcast recalled Jones winning a high school home run derby at Coors Field and tabbed his raw power (hyperbolically?) as “at least 70 grade.”Ninth Round (No. 255) Luke Craytor, RHRP, Virginia Tech UniversityAfter a mediocre career running to its very end in his 2026 senior season, Craytor came through in the clutch, seeing high-leverage time for the Hokies and jumping from like UDFA to a ninth round pick. He went 4-0 with two saves and a solid 3.16 ERA as a senior. His fastball can run up to 98 mph, although that velocity ticked down as he got deeper into his 25 2/3-inning season. But analysts love Craytor’s spin on both his slider and cutter, so he seems an ideal candidate for perfecting in the pitching lab.10th Round (No. 285) Matthew Bucciero, OF, Farifield UniversityBucciero is another four-year senior and value pick for the White Sox. He was the MAC Player of the Year, leading the conference with 20 homers and a .688 slugging percentage
The pool the White Sox will have to sign their first 10 picks is $20,489,500.
11th Round (No. 315) Kyle Casteel, RHSP, Butler (Pa.) H.S.Casteel is an absolute steal for the White Sox, a third-fourth round talent (ranked No. 162 by MLB) secured in the 11th thanks to smarts and persistence. At 6´4´´, the 18-year-old has the size to add even more oomph to his mid-90s fastball (think Tanner McDougal, perhaps). He’s absolutely a starter at this point, with a strong slider as his secondary pitch and on the road to adding a solid change. Casteel might be the best pick of the entire draft for the White Sox, and for a team with the 1-1 that’s saying something.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement12th Round (No. 345) Braden Holcomb, OF, Vanderbilt UniversityHolcomb is another great talent given his draft slot, the No. 226 talent in the draft according to MLB. He’s an absolute thumper, with 30-homer potential. However, there is some swing-and-miss built into his game that will have to be stitched up for him to get there. Plus, he has five-position (OF, corner IF) experience but has yet to find his spot on the field to thrive.
13th Round (No. 375) Grayson Fitzwater, 1B, Virginia Military InstituteAnd in order to help afford the two picks above, we have a fourth-year senior value pick here, a bat-first thumper. Fitzwater plays in a baseball backwater but stands as VMI’s all-time leader in several categories, including homers, total bases and RBIs. He was the Southern Conference’s preseason Player of the Year, was its Player of the Week twice, and finished 2026 in the Top 25 in the country in homers (21) and slugging percentage (.753).
14th Round (No. 405) Isaac Yeager, RHRP, Oregon State UniversityYeager is a massive hulk of a pitcher, running 6´6´´, 255, yet a savvy enough one to have his own web site touting his draftability (shout-out isaacyeager.com)! As a fourth-year senior, it would have been unsurprising to see Yeager picked up to seven rounds earlier, given his absolute lockdown 2026: 2.04 ERA, 39 2/3 innings over 25 games, 0.908 WHIP. The White Sox have landed another sleeper, and their draft keeps getting better and better.
15th Round (No. 435) Cameron Johnson, LHSP, University of OklahomaJohnson was the 250th talent in the draft, yet the White Sox were able to get him at No. 435. Again, the White Sox strike for big talent late, something they have done rarely over the years. Johnson was a member of the 2026 national champion Sooners, but his wildness kept him mostly on the outside looking in. His big arm can hit 99 mph on the gun, but he’s a bigtime project for the pitching lab.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement16th Round (No. 465) Darin Horn, RHRP, Coastal Carolina UniversityJust two picks after taking a late-game ace in Isaac Yeager, the White Sox strike again with Horn, a closer for the Chanticleers. Horn picked up seven saves in 31 games in 2026, with a 3.21 ERA. However, with that ERA and an outstanding 3.88 Ks per walk, Horn’s WHIP lags a bit at 1.262, possibly indicating hitters can see him pretty well. Thankfully, he minimizes damage (just four homers in 67 1/3 innings), and will get right in to the closer mix in the org.
17th Round (No. 495) Crew McChesney, OF, Brigham Young UniversityNot quite sure what to make of the Name of the Draft for the White Sox. McChesney was a center fielder for the Cougars but didn’t steal bases. He also seemingly sold out for power in a push for draft position — but that sellout resulted in just three more homers (from five to eight) and triples (zero to three) but gutted his plate discipline (12 walks, 51 Ks). Crew’s slugging percentage did rise prodigiously (.445 to .584), but the White Sox are likely going to have to find a way to unlock eight-homer power without blinding McChesney’s batting eye.
18th Round (No. 525) Jackson Bergman, RHSP, University of IndianaThe White Sox may be ending the draft on a puzzling note, as this one is another puzzler. Bergman is a fourth-year senior, so he probably wasn’t going to be drafted too much higher than the 18th Round, but being sidelined for all but three games in 2026 with an elbow injury didn’t help. Bergman’s prior stats seem to warrant UDFA status at best, so perhaps Bergman is this year’s Gotta Getta Indiana Playa.
19th Round (No. 555) Jake Berkland, SS, Minnesota State University-MankatoNorthern Sun Conference monster Berkland is a mini-mite (5´9´´, 155) with a mighty bat (in two seasons with the Mavericks, he’s slugged .526 with a .999 OPS). Several years back the White Sox drafted Nick Altermatt out of Minnesota, a two-way player with massive offensive numbers — and he’s a short reliever in the system now. So past metal-bat dominance in Minny is no indication of future mashing in the White Sox system.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement20th Round (No. 585) Connor Fennell, RHSP, Vanderbilt UniversityThe best draft in recent memory for the White Sox ends on an intriguing note, and perhaps with one more over-slot signing. As a starter in 2o24 and 2026, Fennell wasn’t too special for the Commodores, but his season spent as a swingman in 2025 was extraordinary (6-0, 2.53 ERA, 53 1/3 innings and a 0.825 WHIP). He’s got a nice strikeout tendency (10.7 per nine in his college career) and is extremely stingy with walks (5.73 K/BB). The White Sox may feel they have the key to unlocking his success as a starter, or want to plug him in as a stopper or closer.
Sadly, Fennell is now looking like a longshot pick and long shot to sign; scouting director Mike Shirley admits that the White Sox simply drafted Fennell as insurance in case another pick fell through (money or health). If the first 20 players sign as the White Sox now project, there will be no money left over to ink Fennell.
That’s it for the draft! Stay tuned for our podcasts and recaps of the draft, as well our our draft signing tracker.