What will the White Sox do with their first No. 1 pick in nearly 50 years?

CHICAGO – The White Sox have been the talk of the 2026 Draft since sometime in the early evening of Dec. 9, 2025.

At that point of the Winter Meetings, the South Siders were announced as the winners of the Draft Lottery and given the No. 1 pick overall. White Sox general manager Chris Getz looked, at that moment, even happier than when former manager Ozzie Guillen named him the White Sox starting second baseman prior to the start of the 2009 season.

A funny thing has happened, though, since this essential part of the White Sox rebuild, in theory, came their way. This 2026 squad is good, after coming off three straight seasons with 100-plus losses.

Good, as in, battling with Cleveland for the American League Central's top spot as the All-Star break approaches. Good, as in, a playoff team regardless of the divisional ramifications in the second week of July.

And good, as in, potentially adding more pressure upon this 1-1 selection before his name is even called. After all, a player of this ilk could be expected to join the White Sox later in the ’27 season depending on who is selected.

“That’s the expectation from an exterior view,” White Sox director of amateur scouting Mike Shirley told MLB.com during an interview earlier this season. “Internally, the player always tells you when their time is. ... I think about some of the successes we are having right now [are because] we didn’t rush the player there and that those wins are showing their face.

“Our guys have done a tremendous job in letting the player mature. Even the 1-1 pick, he’ll tell us when he’s ready. In some ways the development of this, maybe the player doesn’t have to be rushed to support the organization. … They don’t have to carry the load, but they will be obviously expected to contribute to it.”

This selection marks the third time the White Sox have picked at No. 1 overall. Danny Goodwin didn’t sign out of Peoria High School in 1971, and Harold Baines went from St. Michael’s High School in Easton, Md., to the White Sox in 1977 to, eventually, the Hall of Fame as a revered staple of the organization.

• Day 1 picks: 1, 41, 77, 105

• Bonus pool allotment: $17,592,100

• Last year’s top pick: Billy Carlson. The No. 10 selection overall out of Corona High School in California came to the White Sox with lofty expectations, labeled as the best defensive shortstop in the last 20 years coming out of the Draft, let alone in ’25. Now the organization's No. 4 prospect, Carlson has a .727 OPS over 59 games with Single-A Kannapolis but hasn’t played since May 23 due to a non-displaced fracture on the tip of his left thumb.

• Breakout 2025 pick: Anthony DePino. The year after the Draft is a little early to pick a breakout, but the seventh-round selection out of Rhode Island would fit that description. Over Minor League stops with High-A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham, the 23-year-old No. 29 prospect has an .869 OPS with 16 home runs, 56 RBIs, 46 runs scored and five stolen bases.

Who will be the choice at No. 1 overall? More debate exists over this question than when the White Sox were drafting lower and far more variables existed in their way. This pick is all about the White Sox, with no apparent outside impediments – the player they want, the player they feel they can sign, the player they feel can help them win a championship will be their player at 1-1.

Roch Cholowsky, a shortstop out of UCLA and 2026 Golden Spikes finalist, was the assumed No. 1 pick from the start. Many stories on the day of the Draft Lottery referred to how even his name fit perfectly in Chicago, not to mention the 1.099 OPS, 21 homers and 60 RBIs Cholowsky produced for the ’26 Big 10 powerhouse at UCLA.

Grady Emerson from Fort Worth Christian High School is now ranked just ahead of Cholowsky as the No. 1 Draft prospect per MLB.com, with the 18-year-old also playing shortstop. Catcher Vahn Lackey, right-hander Jackson Flora and fellow high school shortstop Jacob Lombard round out that Top 5 Draft prospect list.

Shirley wasn’t ready to tip his hand a couple of months ago, stating the White Sox were focused on four or five players. Intense scouting and work have been put in across the organization to prepare for adding impact players throughout this entire Draft, not just with the first pick.

Then again, an organization on the rise can’t miss with this sort of opportunity.

“I’m super excited about what the group is doing in Chicago and even the guys in the Minor Leagues – how they are transforming the organization,” Shirley said. “Everybody contributed to the growth.

“This player will supplement that [growth], and he will add value to it quickly. That will be the responsibility that comes with it.”