White Sox select son of Hall of Famer Jim Thome with 34th pick of MLB draft

The Chicago White Sox made the first pick of the 2026 MLB Draft, taking UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky. He was a top prospect and had been rumored to be the White Sox's pick for a long time now.

That selection wasn't a huge surprise. But, after trading for the No. 34 pick in the MLB Draft from the Pittsburgh Pirates, the White Sox made a very fun selection.

As Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports, the White Sox selected Landon Thome, who is the son of Hall of Famer Jim Thome, who spent four seasons with the White Sox during his legendary MLB career.

White Sox select Landon Thome, son of Jim Thome, with 34th MLB draft pick

"Chicago White Sox select Landon Thome, son of Hall of Famer Jim Thome, with pick No. 34," Heyman reports. "Like his dad, he's an infielder with a big bat. Player at Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park, IL."

Landon Thome, the new White Sox draft pick, is an infielder prospect who's just 18 years old and a left-handed hitter who has some solid power and hitting ability.

The teenage prospect out of Nazareth Academy in Illinois is going to be a project for the White Sox. He's not going to see the big leagues for a long time as he works his way through the Chicago farm system.

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But, he's a fun prospect with some pop and plenty of potential. And, of course, some good genes. Being able to live up to Jim Thome, however, is a bit of a long shot.

The 22-year MLB veteran and Hall of Famer recorded 72.9 bWAR in his career, with 12.1 bWAR coming in four seasons with the White Sox.

Thome had 612 career homers with 1,699 RBIs, a .956 OPS for his career, along with five All-Star nominations, a Silver Slugger, and a Roberto Clemente award.

While Landon has a ways to go to match what his father did in the big leagues, this is still a very fun draft pick, and one that could turn out to be a very fruitful selection in a few years.

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