ORLANDO, Fla. – The Chicago White Sox are on their way.
The Sox have the No. 1 pick in the 2026 Major League Baseball draft after winning Tuesday's draft lottery held during the annual winter meetings.
“This is a significant development for us,” Sox general manager Chris Getz said. “And it can't be understated how important that is. We've worked hard to bring talent into the organization in a lot of different ways, and obviously the amateur draft is the obvious way to go. And now to be able to have a chance to get the best talent in the draft is really exciting and just gives us even more momentum.”
This is the first time the team will pick first since 1977, when they selected Harold Baines. The Hall of Famer attended Tuesday's lottery ceremony representing the Sox.
“It's nice to be here,” Baines said. “I’m happy for the organization.”
The draft will take place July 11-12 in Philadelphia as part of MLB All-Star Week.
The Sox entered Tuesday with the best odds for the No. 1 pick (27.73%). In 2025, they had the second-worst record in the majors at 60–102. The Colorado Rockies won 43-119 but were ineligible for this year's lottery after receiving lottery picks in the 2024 and 2025 drafts.
Top prospects in 2026 draft, according to MLB.com UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowski.
Cholowski's father, Dan Cholowski, was a first-round draft pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1991. He played eight professional seasons as an infielder and catcher, including parts of two seasons in the Chicago Cubs organization, but never made it to the major leagues.
Baynes is a six-time All-Star and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019. The Sox selected first baseman Danny Goodwin as their only other top pick in 1971, and he played in seven major league seasons.
The Tampa Bay Rays will take second place, followed by Minnesota, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Baltimore, the Athletics, Atlanta and Colorado.
The Cubs, who are not eligible for the lottery after making the 2025 postseason, will have the 23rd pick in the draft.
MLB and the players association established the lottery in the March 2022 collective bargaining agreement. The union pushed for the change to encourage teams to compete for wins rather than trade players at the deadline in an attempt to get a higher draft pick.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
