Two days ago the White Sox were on the clock. Now they've got their guy under contract for a record-shattering number, and the rebuild just got its most important building block yet.
The Chicago White Sox are choosing UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky with the No. 1 pick in the MLB Draft, sources tell ESPN.
The pick itself wasn't much of a surprise. Cholowsky spent the spring establishing himself as the best college shortstop prospect since Troy Tulowitzki, slashing .320/.452/.636 with 21 homers and 60 RBIs in his junior year at UCLA, and he graded out as a 65-overall prospect with at least a 60 in hit, power, arm and field. He's also the first college shortstop taken No. 1 overall since Dansby Swanson in 2015 — that's the tier the White Sox think they just landed.
Roch Cholowsky was emotional after being selected first overall by the White Sox
That emotion made sense watching the White Sox draft room, too. Chicago's been stuck in a miserable stretch for years, and getting the No. 1 pick — then landing a player teams have compared to a franchise shortstop — is the kind of moment a fanbase can actually build hope around.
Then came the part that turns a good pick into a headline of its own. Jim Callis reported Cholowsky passed his physical and signed for $10.35 million, well under the $11.35 million slot value but comfortably clearing the previous draft-bonus record of $9.3 million set by Chase Burns and Charlie Condon back in 2024.
No. 1 overall pick Roch Cholowsky has passed his physical & will sign with @WhiteSox for $10.35 million (slot value = $11,350,600). Shatters @MLBDraft bonus record of $9.3 mil set by Chase Burns & Charlie Condon in 2024. Best all-around college shortstop since Troy Tulowitzki.
That's real money and a real statement. Bonus records don't fall often — the $9.3 million mark from 2024 had only been up for two years — and Chicago blowing past it signals just how much value evaluators put on Cholowsky's blend of tools. Slot value existing at $11.35 million also means the White Sox left over a million dollars on the board to spend elsewhere in the draft, a common strategy for teams trying to get an underslot deal done early and reallocate savings to later-round upside picks.
None of that money changes the fact that Cholowsky still has to go be good, and shortstop prospects with this much helium have flamed out before. But for a White Sox organization that's needed a face of the rebuild for a while now, locking in the No. 1 pick fast — and paying him like the best player in his class — is about as clean a start as you can ask for.