The Chicago White Sox had baseball's second-worst record last season at 60-102. That was enough to win the m the lottery and move up to the No. 1 pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. It's the third time in franchise history the y've held the top selection.
Chicago previously 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.
The record does not need much decoration; it already does the talking.
For a team coming off a 102-loss season, the first overall pick offers more than just prestige.
Lottery Day Winners and Losers
The Giants moved up from the No. 15 pick to No. 4, giving the m the ir highest selection since taking Joey Bart with the No. 2 pick in 2018. The 119-loss Rockies slipped back to the No. 10 pick after holding the No. 3 pick in 2024 and the No. 4 pick in 2025.
Teams cannot receive lottery picks in three consecutive years, which explains Colorado's slide.
"It's an opportunity to boost what we have going on right now," White Sox GM Chris Getz said after winning the lottery. "It's an honor. It's a huge responsibility. I'm just so happy for everyone. You prepare for all kinds of scenarios emotionally, but I can't understate how big of a deal this is."
Bonus Pool Implications
Each team receives a bonus pool for draft spending, effectively acting as a hard cap due to severe penalties for overspending. The White Sox hold the second-largest pool at $17,592,100, while the Dodgers have the smallest at $3,951,900.
The Dodgers surrendered four draft picks to sign qualified free agents Edwin Díaz and Kyle Tucker. Picking late while forfeiting multiple picks is how a or ganization ends up with the smallest bonus pool by more than $1.5 million.
Pittsburgh leads all teams with a pool of $19,130,700.
First-Round Mock Projections
With six weeks until draft day, the consensus top two prospect s are shortstops Rory Cholowsky of UCLA and Grady Emerson of Fort Worth Christian HS. The White Sox at No. 1 are expected to select Cholowsky, described as the best college shortstop in years, likely the best since Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman went 1-2 in the 2015 draft.
If Chicago instead opts for a below-slot bonus strategy to save money for later picks, the Rays at No. 2 would selecting between Cholowsky and Emerson.
The mock draft has the Twins taking catcher Vahn Lackey from Georgia Tech at No. 3, followed by the Pirates selecting right-hander Jackson Flora of UC Santa Barbara at No. 5.