White Sox 2026 MLB Draft Notebook 1.0
via MLB PR
The 2026 Major League Baseball Draft will take place in Philadelphia during All Star weekend next July. This will be the fifth draft for the White Sox under the current rules and the second one under the revamped, two-day format. The draft is 20 rounds and a lottery determines the first six selections. This will be Mike Shirley’s 7th draft in his role as Director of Amateur Scouting for the club. The organization has selected Garrett Crochet, Colson Montgomery, Noah Schultz, Jacob Gonzalez, Hagen Smith and Billy Carlson with first rounders in that time.
Initial Outlook for White Sox 2025 Draft Class.
In a recent series at Baseball America, the publication highlighted some top players from the Pale Hose draft class in their report cards. Billy Carlson, Jaden Fauske, Landon Hodge and Matthew Boughton were significant members of the club’s most recent draft class but we won’t see any of them make contributions outside of Arizona until next year. Carlson and Fauske are expected to begin the 2026 season in Low-A with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers.
Carlson is already cracking top 100 lists and he slots in at #71 overall for MLB Pipeline. He projects as a premium defender at the shortstop position and he has power potential as well. The hit tool will determine the ceiling for the Corona, California product. The 19-year-old possesses the upside to be one of the top shortstop prospects in baseball.
Fauske is a local product from Nazareth Academy in La Grange, Illinois and the 18-year-old is also one of the ten best prospects in the White Sox’s system currently. The 6-3, 200 pounder hits from the left side with a great approach and an advanced feel to hit. The move to the outfield has gone well according to reports from Arizona. He could be an above-average defender in the outfield while hitting 20-25 homers annually.
The Pale Hose were position player heavy in the draft last year and an infusion of bats into the system was a necessary approach. Hodge and Boughton are expected to begin the 2026 season in Arizona with the rookie ball club. Other hitters from this class have already gotten their feet wet as professionals. Kyle Lodise signed for $925K in the third round out of Georgia Tech. The infielder posted a 108 wRC+ with four homers in High-A with Winston-Salem and he’s a top 15 prospect in their system currently.
Colby Shelton was a 6th rounder out of Florida and the left-handed hitting infielder has some power potential despite struggles in his initial attempt in Low-A. 22-year-old first baseman Anthony Depino out of Rhode Island posted a 105 wRC+ in 29 games with the Ballers as well while walking at a 16% clip. Catcher Rylan Galvan, utility guy Kaleb Freeman and outfielder Derek Cerda will factor into the mix somewhere as well.
One of the steals of the draft class came in the 12th round though. Area Scout Kevin Burrell has been traversing the states of South Carolina and Georgia for decades on a quest to find talented ball players. He noticed during the process that Mercer Redshirt Sophomore Ely Brown was surprisingly draft eligible. The 21-year-old signed for $175,000 and then posted a 129 wRC+ with 15 stolen bases while hitting .317/.417/.347 in Kannapolis to finish off 2025.
The White Sox selected nine pitchers but they opted not to throw any of them in affiliated games for 2025. Gabe Davis was a 5th round selection out of Oklahoma State and the 6-9 righty was ranked as the #129 overall player for Baseball America. The 22-year-old has a fastball that gets into the high 90’s with multiple secondary offerings. He’s been limited by injuries and hasn’t thrown many innings but he has lots of potential with above-average extension on the mound.
Blaine Wynk, Riley Eikhoff and Max Banks likely begin their professional careers as starting pitchers for affiliates in 2026. Daniel Wright, Caedmon Parker, Landen Payne, Nicholas Weyrich and Andrew Sentlinger will likely pitch in relief roles ultimately.
MLB Draft Lottery Luck Essential for White Sox
The 2026 draft lottery will take place live on MLB Network from the second day of Major League Baseball’s annual winter meetings from Orlando, Florida this year. The White Sox finished with the 2nd worst record in the sport last season and they will have the top overall odds to land the #1 selection in the 2026 draft. They have a nearly 28% chance to land the top selection. The White Sox chose 10th overall in 2025 despite finishing the previous season with the worst overall record in baseball .
The Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels find themselves in similar spots this year as those clubs will land picks 10-12 respectively due to the MLB Draft Lottery rules deployed by the most recent collective bargaining agreement. The Minnesota Twins (22.2%), Pittsburgh Pirates (16.8%), Baltimore Orioles (9.24%) and Athletics (6.55%) follow the White Sox in regards to odds of landing the top selection.
The Houston Astros are the team with the lowest odds of landing the #1 pick. The Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays will all have their first round pick dropped ten spots due to being over the second tier of the luxury tax threshold for the 2025-2026 season. The lowest that the White Sox can pick in the 2026 draft is #7 overall.
They will also have the 2nd pick in rounds 2-20 and their second round selection should be attached to a bonus pool number in the range of $2.5 million. Draft bonus pools won’t be finalized until the remaining free agents with qualifying offers sign contracts and land with teams. In 2024, the White Sox acquired a competitive balance Round B selection in a trade with the Seattle Mariners and it would behoove them to follow a similar playbook for 2026. They could really use an extra pick and more money to play with.
The current draft order is unknown and it won’t be completely set during the night of the lottery either. In addition to the five clubs who will be docked 10 spots, some extra selections will be awarded as well. The Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros will receive Prospect Promotion Incentive picks after the first round for Drake Baldwin winning the MVP Award and Hunter Brown being in Cy Young consideration.
The Arizona Diamondbacks will receive a draft pick after the PPI picks if they lose Zac Gallen in free agency. The Competitive Balance Round A teams will be the: Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks, Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians.
The White Sox need to add premium talent to their system and the top selections will be accompanied by record bonus pool space as well. The #1 overall pick should come with a bonus slot of over $11 million. There are some premium players available at the top of the 2026 draft class and the Pale Hose need some ping pong luck.
Talent Pool Available for White Sox in 2026 MLB Draft
The White Sox are guaranteed a top seven selection in the 2026 Draft. Picking really high would be a major boon for the organization though and landing the #1 overall pick offers the promise of a potential franchise changing star. These are their stories.
Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA
Cholowsky was the #44 overall prospect in the 2023 MLB Draft out of Hamilton High School in Arizona. He was also the starting quarterback of the football team and had college interest for football as well. The 6-2 185 pounder now looks like the top prospect in the 2026 Draft and he’s the early favorite to be the #1 pick. The UCLA standout is one of the best college shortstop prospects in years.
He was the college player of the year in 2025 while hitting .333/.446/.618 with 31 homers. Cholowsky shows an advanced feel to hit with premium exit velocities and in zone contact skills. The game power has improved significantly; mostly to the pull side. The 20-year-old is also a plus defender at shortstop. The one blemish is that he’s displayed underwhelming performances with Team USA and in Cape Cod.
Grady Emerson, SS, Fort Worth Christian HS (TX)
The 6-2, 180 pounder is the top high school player in next year’s class. The left-handed hitter from North Richland Hills, Texas will hear his name called in the first few picks next July. Emerson is a pure hitter with loud tools, athleticism and upside at a premium position. He shows a great swing with a long track record of performance while rarely swinging and missing. The Texas commit also is a plus runner with a strong arm and it’s currently a hit over power profile.
Jacob Lombard, SS, Gulliver Prep HS (FL)
The 6-3, 185 pound infielder out of Gulliver Prep in Miami, Florida is the younger brother of Yankees’ prospect George Lombard Jr. and the son of the Tigers’ bench coach of the same name. The infielder is committed to the The University of Miami but he’s expected to be a top selection next July. Lombard is instinctive and fundamentally sound while being a no doubt shortstop. He’s shown 70-grade run times with plus raw power on display as well. The questions about his profile reside in the hit tool with a healthy amount of swing and miss in his game currently.
Justin Lebron, SS, Alabama
Lebron was a member of the All SEC Defensive Team last year while hitting .327/.425/.593 over the past two seasons. The 6-2, 165 pound right-handed hitter has also clubbed 30 homers in that span. Lebron has premium bat speed and destroys fastballs. There are some swing and miss concerns in the profile however; especially against off speed offerings and spin. The Alabama product is a definite shortstop with power though and he should be a top ten pick next year.
Tyler Spangler, SS, De LaSalle HS (CA)
Spangler has a direct, compact swing with more strength projected. The 6-3, 195 pounder hits from the left side and makes lots of quality contact. The infielder shows a solid approach with an easy swing that produces consistent hard contact. He’s an above-average runner that will likely outgrew shortstop. He has the bat to profile at another position though. Spangler is committed to Stanford.
Liam Peterson, RHP, Florida
The 6-5, 200 pound righty currently looks like the top college arm in the 2026 Draft class. Peterson was one of the best freshman pitchers in the country for the University of Florida. He struck out 77 hitters in 63 innings. As a sophomore, the right hander struck out 96 hitters in 69.1 innings with the Gators. Peterson throws a fastball in the mid to upper 90’s with carry while displaying a mid to upper 80’s slider as well. It shows sharp, two plane tilt. There’s also a curveball and an above-average changeup with tumble and fade.
Derek Curiel, OF, LSU
Curiel was a Southern California prepster who was a star on the west coast. The 6-2, 175 pound outfielder is a pure hitter with an advanced approach at the plate. As the leadoff man for LSU last year, the left-handed batter slashed .345/.470/.519 with seven homers and 20 doubles. Curiel projects as a potential plus hitter with a simple swing and a good approach. He’ll likely play center field for the Tigers in 2026 but there are some questions regarding his power tool.
I would be nice if the colleges didn’t use the aluminum bats anymore. They have the money to pay for the wood bats and the bats don’t break that often. It is hard to figure out hit tools with the different bats. I still like the idea of getting Pitching from college but position players from HS. A shortstop in high school might be able to play any other position on the infield or all 3 outfield positions. Please, no 2nd baseman! We have enough of those. How about a HS shortstop in the 1st round then a power bat plus at least 10 pitchers.
Depends on where they pick! College player is the favorite at #1 but I agree on prep guy if they pick 2-7. The aluminum bats are definitely a variable for sure. Thanks for reading!