It did not take long for the Chicago White Sox to sign No. 1 overall pick Roch Cholowsky. Just two days after the draft, Cholowsky and the ChiSox have agreed to a record $10.35 million signing bonus, reports MLB.com. That is a little more than $1 million below the $11,350,600 slot value for the No. 1 pick. The White Sox have not yet announced the signing.
Chicago can and almost certainly will use the roughly $1 million in savings from Cholowsky's below-slot bonus to sign other draft picks. The White Sox had one of the best draft hauls this year, one that included Hall of Fame Jim Thome's son, Landon.
Here are the largest signing bonuses in draft history:
PlayerYearPickBonusRoch Cholowsky, White Sox
2026
No. 1
$10.35 million
2024
No. 2
$9.25 million
2024
No. 3
$9.25 million
2023
No. 1
$9.2 million
2023
No. 2
$9 million
The largest guarantee in draft history is Stephen Strasburg's four-year, $15.1 million major-league contract with the Nationals in 2009. That included a $7.5 million signing bonus. Drafted players are no longer eligible to sign major-league contracts that put them directly on the 40-man roster. Those deals were done away with when the bonus pool era arrived in 2012.
Cholowsky, 21, was the consensus No. 1 player in the draft class. The UCLA shortstop slashed .320/.453/.636 with 21 homers and as many walks as strikeouts (36 each) in 60 games for the Bruins this spring. He is a do-it-all player with contact skills, power, great defensive chops, and strong leadership skills. It won't be long until Cholowsky joins Chicago's up-and-coming team.
The White Sox entered the All-Star break in first place in the AL Central with a 50-45 record. They're percentage points ahead of the 51-46 Guardians. Chicago's +35 run differential is the second best in the American League behind the Yankees (+91).
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