Mike Ferrin of MLB Network Radio was a guest on the Sox Machine podcast Tuesday morning, and he and host Josh Nelson made a case for Texas high school shortstop Grady Emerson to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 MLB draft.
But when the White Sox won the draft lottery Tuesday night, securing that top overall selection, fans took to X and basically anointed UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky as the next superstar on the South Side of Chicago.
On that podcast, Nelson and Ferrin concluded that Cholowsky and Emerson could be described as "1A and 1B" in this draft.
I'll admit it; I haven't seen either of these two guys play enough to have an opinion. But here are some things I do know:
- The Sox do not have a superstar on their current roster, nor do they have one in their minor league system. So, getting this top overall selection represents a golden opportunity to change that.
- Cholowsky is the top-ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline's list right now, and some say he's the best college shortstop in the past 20 years.
- Experts have compared Cholowsky to Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson. There's nothing wrong with that. Swanson has been a good player. I'd take him, but he's not a superstar. If Cholowsky is Swanson, then he's not a "generational talent," as I've heard some claim.
- There is a lot of baseball left to be played between now and the draft. There are a lot of opportunities to collect more data on Cholowsky, Emerson and every other player projected to go early in the first round.
- Rankings can (and often do) change.
The Sox should keep an open mind as they go through this process, and select wisely. It's simply too early to say any single player is a slam dunk to be taken No. 1 overall.
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