The White Sox took Roch Cholowsky No. 1 overall out of UCLA a few days ago, and now they're putting real money behind it. Jim Callis reported the shortstop has passed his physical and is set to sign for $10.35 million, a full $1 million over the previous draft-record bonus.
Jim Callis broke the news that Cholowsky's bonus shatters the old draft record.
That old record wasn't ancient history either. Chase Burns and Charlie Condon both got $9.3 million in the 2024 draft, and that number felt untouchable for about 5 minutes before Cholowsky blew past it. Slot value for the No. 1 pick this year was $11,350,600, so the White Sox actually left about $1 million in savings on the table by paying under slot — still, $10.35 million for a guy who hasn't thrown a professional pitch is a wild number to see next to a college kid's name.
The pedigree backs it up. Cholowsky hit .320/.453/.636 with 21 homers for the Bruins this season, walking as often as he struck out, and MLB Pipeline had him pegged as the best all-around college shortstop prospect since Troy Tulowitzki. Callis echoed that exact comparison in his report. He's a 65-overall guy with at least a 60 grade in four of the five tool categories — hit, power, arm, field — which is the kind of complete profile teams almost never get to pick at No. 1.
Callis followed up with the full list of the biggest bonuses in draft history now that Cholowsky sits on top.
For a White Sox franchise that hasn't exactly been swimming in good vibes, landing the presumptive best player in the class and immediately locking him in for a record number is as clean a win as this front office is going to get this summer. It's also their first No. 1 overall pick since Harold Baines back in 1977, so there's some real symbolic weight riding on Cholowsky beyond just the bonus check.
The bigger question now is how fast he moves. Scouts have already floated the idea that his tools and feel for the game could make him big-league ready quicker than most college bats, and a below-slot-but-still-record bonus signing usually means a fast track through the system rather than a summer of contract drama. Don't be shocked if Cholowsky is a household name on the South Side sooner than a typical first-rounder.