White Sox, Twins Lead AL Central 2026 Draft Reviews With No. 1 and Top Overall Prospects
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 15
White Sox, Twins Lead AL Central 2026 Draft Reviews With No. 1 and Top Overall Prospects
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 15
Summary
Keith Law singled out the White Sox and Twins as the AL Central’s strongest 2026 draft performers, praising Chicago’s haul around No. 1 pick Roch Cholowsky and Minnesota’s selection of catcher Vahn Lackey.
Chicago used the draft’s largest bonus pool after adding pick No. 34, and Law said it “nailed it” with Cholowsky plus high-upside follow-up picks such as Landon Thome, Cole Prosek and Joey Volchko.
Minnesota impressed Law by landing his top overall prospect in Lackey, then leaning heavily into pitching with Brett Renfrow, Ethan Wachsmann and Tommy LaPour after also taking power bat Carson Tinney.
Kansas City also drew strong marks for a creative class led by Zion Rose and fast-rising pitcher Taylor Rabe, while Cleveland’s Liam Peterson and Detroit’s Cameron Flukey were highlighted as top-value first-round talents.
The review covered only the top 10 rounds that count toward MLB bonus pools, with later-round names treated mainly as signability gambles rather than core measures of each class.