It's becoming more and more clear who the White Sox will draft first overall

Back in December, the Chicago White Sox learned that they had received the first overall selection in the 2026 MLB Draft. This marks the third time the organization has had the privilege to select first in the draft. 

The first time the South Siders got the first pick was all the way back in 1971, when they took Danny Goodwin. The last time the club held the top spot in the draft was back in 1977 when they took Harold Baines. 

Chicago has a great chance to build upon their loaded farm system. And their choice may be easier than the front office initially thought it was going to be. 

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It's becoming more and more clear who the White Sox will draft first overall

Typically, there are a few draft prospects that have put themselves on a different tier than most. That exactly explains UCLA's shortstop Roch Cholowsky. 

He heads into the spring as a "slam dunk top talent" in this year's draft class. Per Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter, it would surprise plenty if the White Sox did not take Cholowosky with the first overall pick. 

"Cholowsky is the slam dunk top talent in the 2026 draft class. After hitting .353/.480/.710 with 23 home runs as a sophomore, he has a 1.320 OPS with eight home runs through 14 games to kick off the 2026 campaign. He has been hailed as the best all-around shortstop prospect to come out of the college ranks since Troy Tulowitzki was at Long Beach State in 2005."

Cholowsky's game is rock solid. He has what it takes to be a difference-maker with the bat in his hands and with the glove in the field. He has been given a Troy Tulowiski comparison early, which is quite the comparison. 

Tulowitzki went on to be a five-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove Award winner, and a two-time Silver Slugger in his 13 seasons in the big leagues.

More MLB news:

• Twins linked to the top high school draft prospect with third overall pick
• Giants projected to take UC Santa Barbara's ace in the 2026 MLB Draft
• Pirates linked to Georgia Tech's big-time slugger as a potential first-round pick
• A's projected to take one of the top HS prospects in the 2026 MLB Draft
• Rangers linked to the 'best pure athlete' in the prep class this upcoming draft