The White Sox already had the whole baseball world watching on Day 1 of the 2026 MLB Draft when they used the No. 1 overall pick on UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, the third time in franchise history Chicago has held the top selection. That would've been enough of a headline on its own. Then Day 2 rolled around and the Sox decided to make it personal.
With the No. 34 pick, Chicago selected Landon Thome, a shortstop out of Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park, Illinois, and yes, the son of Hall of Famer Jim Thome. Jon Heyman broke the news, noting Landon plays the same infield-with-a-big-bat profile that made his dad a 612-homer, first-ballot Cooperstown lock.
Chicago White Sox select Landon Thome, son of Hall of Famer Jim Thome, with pick No. 34. Like his dad, he’s an infielder with a big bat. Played at Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park, Ill.
This isn't some sentimental favor pick, either. Landon was named the 2026 Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year after hitting .535 with 7 homers and 29 RBIs this spring, and MLB Pipeline has him graded at 55 for both hit and power tools, with scouts praising his pitch recognition and a smooth left-handed swing. Left-handed power bat, shortstop frame, big amateur numbers in-state — it's not hard to see why Chicago's scouting department was into it.
There's also a front-office wrinkle that makes this pick land differently than a normal Day 2 selection. Jim Thome has been working as a special assistant to White Sox GM Chris Getz and reportedly had a hand in the club's draft process this year. So this isn't just "team drafts legend's kid" for the feel-good headline — the legend was in the room helping build the board that led to it.
Zoom out and the White Sox just spent one draft weekend adding two shortstops with real pop to a farm system that desperately needed exactly that kind of talent injection. Cholowsky at No. 1 gives them a potential cornerstone; Thome at No. 34 gives them a name that's already stitched into South Side lore and a bat evaluators like on its own merits. Whether Landon ever wears the same jersey his dad made a Hall of Fame case in is years away from being decided, but Chicago clearly wasn't shy about the storyline.