White Sox Sign No. 1 Overall Pick Roch Cholowsky to Record-Breaking Bonus

Roch Cholowsky wasted no time signing with the Chicago White Sox and beginning his professional career after being selected with the first overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft.

On Monday evening, the White Sox signed Cholowsky to a record $10.35 million signing bonus, shattering the previous draft record of $9.3 million set by Chase Burns and Charlie Condon in 2024.

Regardless of who the White Sox selected, the first pick in this year’s draft was always going to break the bonus record. That much does not come as much of a surprise. But fans may be surprised to learn that even with Cholowsky shattering the existing record, his signing bonus still saved Chicago more than $1 million.

The White Sox had more than $20 million to spend on their 2026 draft class, the largest bonus pool of any team, after acquiring the 34th overall pick from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a trade last weekend. Cholowsky’s $10.35 million bonus actually came in more than $1 million below the slot value for the first overall selection, giving the White Sox additional savings to use on players like Landon Thome, Cole Prosek, and Kyle Castillo, high school players whom Chicago had high on its draft board.

According to Cholowsky during an interview on the CHSN broadcast Sunday, he will fly to Charlotte on Wednesday, where he will report to the Triple-A facility for the Charlotte Knights and participate in a four-day camp with White Sox coaches and players. He will then head back to Arizona for workouts, but he expects to receive an assignment shortly afterward.

My initial belief is that Cholowsky will start at High-A Winston-Salem, and he could be suited up for the Dash before the end of July.

The sooner he starts the clock, the sooner he can get comfortable facing minor league pitching and begin his development. The faster that process moves, the sooner we will see Cholowsky on the South Side in a White Sox uniform.

The overwhelming consensus remains that, should everything go according to plan, we could see him in the big leagues with Chicago by the end of 2027.

That's one of many reasons why the White Sox made him their selection at the top of the draft. Chicago has a contending team, sitting at 50-45 at the All-Star break, in first place in the AL Central, and exceeding every expectation placed on it before the year began. The White Sox are "ahead of schedule," but that doesn't mean they can't make some noise, and it doesn't mean their timeline can't change.

Provided everything goes smoothly with CBA negotiations during the offseason and the 2027 Major League Baseball season takes place, there's no reason it can't be a year in which the White Sox are vying for a World Series. And they just added another piece to the puzzle who can help them in that pursuit.

Cholowsky offers the perfect blend of a high floor and an immense ceiling. He should rocket through the minor leagues quickly, he loves what this organization is building, and he wants to be part of its culture.

There's a reason he went first overall. There's a reason he received the largest signing bonus in draft history. And there's a reason the White Sox are itching to get him on assignment and playing in the minor leagues. Once they do, it shouldn't take long for Cholowsky to start making some noise.