ST. PETERSBURG -- The White Sox organization and their fan base will be “Roch and rolling” at Truist Stadium Tuesday night, as the Winston-Salem Dash, their High-A affiliate, play host to Asheville at 6:30 p.m. ET.
And yes, Roch is spelled correctly, and yes, it should be capitalized. This grammar scenario is in relation to Roch Cholowsky, the top pick in the 2026 Draft, who will be making his affiliate debut for the South Siders.
“Excited for him, and the other Draft guys, too,” said White Sox director of player development Paul Janish ahead of Saturday’s contest at Tropicana Field. “Excited for those guys, getting them kind of indoctrinated in the organization.
“It's one of my favorite times of the year, getting to know the Draft players. And with all the coordinators and everything, really kind of setting up what the short-term future looks like for them. It's a great group, and I'm excited to see where it ends up.”
Cholowsky, who agreed to a Draft record $10.35 million signing bonus, is familiar with the general Winston-Salem area after beginning his White Sox run at a post-Draft camp in Charlotte, N.C. Ryan Fuller, the team’s director of hitting, mentioned recently that Cholowsky treated his fellow draftees to a steak dinner during that camp.
There was work in Arizona for Cholowsky before this trip to Winston-Salem. Even in this short time with the White Sox, the shortstop from UCLA already has shown the talent and swagger attached to a player holding this sort of lofty Draft status.
COMPLETE WHITE SOX PROSPECT COVERAGE
“Swagger is one way to say it,” Janish said. “The word I like to use is presence. And I think Roch knows who he is and where he wants to go, and he does it in a pretty special way. … I’ve said this a couple times already, but the thing that sticks out about Roch is -- the word that comes to mind is teammate. He's obviously extremely talented.
“There's going to be a lot of notoriety and exposure and things that he's going to have to deal with, that he's already dealt with to a certain degree at the college level. But the thing that sticks out, is even with the expectation and everything that goes with it, the way that he just like plugs into the group and the way that guys gravitate to him. He's got a presence to him that's pretty special. And it's a humble presence, if that makes sense.”
Clay Burdette (outfielder, seventh round), Crew McChesney (OF, 17th round), Braden Holcomb (OF, 12th round) and Grayson Fitzwater (first baseman, 13th round) all went to Single-A Kannapolis. Burdette played Friday, and the remaining players were set to get in action Saturday.
High school players such as infielder Landon Thome, selected 34th overall, and second-round infielder Cole Prosek will be working within the Arizona Bridge League. Thome singled home two runs Saturday just before Janish spoke to the media.
There was also focus on past Draft choices: left-hander Hagen Smith, the fifth pick overall in 2024, and right-hander Tanner McDougal, who was a fifth-round selection in ‘21. They have moved from the rotation to the bullpen after dealing with injuries in ‘26, learning the nuances of this role for Triple-A Charlotte.
“They are both doing really well. Healthy, which is the most important thing,” said Janish of Smith and McDougal. “Assuming that health, I think they are both going to get the chance to perform at the Major League level this year.”
Neither Smith nor McDougal are locked into relief after the ‘26 campaign.
“It’s a good question,” Janish said regarding their future. “Both of them are going to go into the offseason, coming into next Spring Training, they are going to build up as a starter. This offseason, they will be in preparation to start again next year.”