CHICAGO -- Roch Cholowsky’s first taste of professional baseball ended earlier than the White Sox hoped. Now, their top prospect’s focus has shifted toward making sure his first full season does not begin the same way.
Cholowsky, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft and baseball's No. 11 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, was shut down Aug. 22 with right wrist tendinitis after playing nine games for High-A Winston-Salem. White Sox Minor League director Paul Janish said Thursday that Cholowsky will not participate in the Arizona Fall League and will be limited offensively during instructional league.
“He’s going to be present,” Janish said. “He’s not going to do a ton, if I’m being honest, relative to baseball activities. He’s taking ground balls and stuff. So, what I should say is he’s not going to do a ton offensively. He is doing defensive work.”
Cholowsky last played on Aug. 15 before the White Sox shut him down for the season. He hit .167 with three doubles, one homer, 10 RBIs and three stolen bases in 36 at-bats with Winston-Salem, gaining a brief introduction to the daily rhythm of affiliate baseball after beginning his professional career in bridge league games in Arizona.
“All he wants to do is play, and unfortunately, he had a little bit of a blip on the radar that, due to the timing of where we were in the season and the amount of time left, it just didn’t make any sense to push on it,” Janish said. “Even though he didn’t get to play a ton, he did get out to the affiliate, so he knows what it looks like. We don’t just show up at seven o’clock and play the game, right? He got to see what that looks like on a day-to-day basis, defensively and offensively, and I think that’s going to serve him well next year.”
Rather than rush Cholowsky back for more game action this fall, the White Sox want him fully prepared for Spring Training and the demands of his first full professional season.
“A lot of that is going to have to do with the offseason program -- offensively, defensively and in the weight room,” Janish said. “We love Roch, and we’re really excited about him, but he’s never played a full season before. Even though he’s a college guy and a little bit older, he’s going to have to get used to what that means and looks like. We’ll just try to give him the best opportunity to do that.”