Draft Background
The 2026 MLB Draft is only six weeks away. Five years ago, MLB pushed the draft back from the first week of June to the All-Star break in an effort to better market the event. The two-day draft begins Saturday, July 11.
This is the fourth draft with MLB's lottery system. Picks 1-6 are assigned via lottery, picks 7-18 are the remaining non-postseason teams in reverse order of the previous year's standings, and picks 19-30 are postseason teams in order of their playoff finish.
Lottery Results
At 60-102, the White Sox had baseball's second-worst record last season, yet Chicago won the lottery and moved up to the No. 1 pick. It is the third time in franchise history the White Sox have held the No. 1 selection.
They selected Danny Goodwin with the No. 1 pick in 1971 (but did not sign him) and Hall of Famer Harold Baines with the No. 1 pick in 1977.
"It's an opportunity to boost what we have going on right now," ChiSox GM Chris Getz said after winning the lottery. "It's an honor. It's a huge responsibility. I'm just so happy for everyone."
The Giants also won big on lottery day. They moved up from the No. 15 pick to No. 4. It will be San Francisco's highest selection since taking Joey Bart with the No. 2 pick in 2018.
The 119-loss Rockies moved back to the No. 10 pick. They had the No. 3 pick in 2024 and the No. 4 pick in 2025. Teams cannot have lottery picks in three consecutive years.
Draft Rules and Compensation
All first-round picks are protected from free-agent compensation. Teams forfeit later draft picks (and international bonus pool money) to sign qualified free agents.
The Blue Jays, Dodgers, Mets, Phillies, and Yankees all exceeded the $281 million third competitive balance tax threshold in 2025. The penalty moves their first 2026 pick back 10 spots, putting them out of the first round.
Each team is given a set bonus pool for draft spending each summer. The penalties for excessive spending are harsh enough (tax on overage, forfeit a future first rounder) that the bonus pool is effectively a hard cap.
The bonus pools are tied to picks in the top 10 rounds. If you sign one player to a below-slot bonus, you can give the savings to another player.
Here are the five largest bonus pools for the 2026 MLB draft:
- White Sox: $17,592,100
The Dodgers have the smallest bonus pool at $3,951,900. Their first-round pick was moved back 10 spots through CBT penalties. They also surrendered a total of four picks (second, third, fifth, and sixth rounders) to sign qualified free agents Edwin Díaz and Kyle Tucker.
2026 First-Round Mock Draft
Generally speaking, teams do not draft for need in the early rounds. It's difficult to predict this sport a month or two into the future. It's impossible to know what roster needs will be two or three years down the line, when most of these players will be ready for the big leagues.
Below is our first 2026 first-round mock draft. We'll have three mock draft updates between now and draft day to reflect the latest chatter, speculation, and rumors.
1. White Sox: SS Roch Cholowsky, UCLA
Six weeks out from draft day, Cholowsky to the ChiSox is not set in stone, though it is the most likely outcome. Cholowsky is the best college shortstop in years, probably since Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman went 1-2 in the 2015 draft. He is the consensus No. 1 prospect for this year's draft.
High school shortstop Grady Emerson is a legitimate option at No. 1.