White Sox Take Roch Cholowsky at No. 1 as Rays Grab Grady Emerson at No. 2
Updated
Updated · FanGraphs · Jul 13
White Sox Take Roch Cholowsky at No. 1 as Rays Grab Grady Emerson at No. 2
3 articles · Updated · FanGraphs · Jul 13
Summary
Day 1 of the 2026 MLB Draft opened with the White Sox selecting UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky first overall and the Rays taking high school shortstop Grady Emerson second.
Chicago is expected to sign Cholowsky for slightly below slot, preserving bonus-pool flexibility after adding the No. 34 pick and entering the draft with the largest pool.
The White Sox then targeted upside with Landon Thome at No. 34 and prep catcher Cole Prosek at No. 41, both viewed as possible over-slot plays.
Several clubs drew strong reviews for the rest of Day 1, including the A's at No. 8 with Drew Burress and multiple pitchers, and the Rockies at No. 10 after landing Tyler Bell.
The first round also showed divergent strategies across baseball, from Tampa Bay's tools-heavy high school class to teams such as Houston and San Francisco leaning on quicker-moving college talent.