White Sox Hope To Reclaim No. 1 Pick Lost To Anti-Tanking Rules

You’d think 121 losses would at least get a baseball franchise the first overall pick in the draft. Yet the White Sox were left waiting for almost an hour after Washington selected shortstop Eli Willits with the first pick last July.

Major League Baseball’s anti-tanking rules left them with the 10th pick because Chicago is a large market. But there is a better outlook for the 2026 draft.

While the White Sox have improved considerably as they developed a core of young players, they are well positioned for the draft lottery, which will be held during the winter meetings in December. Their loss to the Yankees on Wednesday gave them 100-plus losses for the third year in a row.

Colorado (43-115), the only team with a worse record than the Sox, is ineligible for a pick at the top of the draft because of the anti-tanking rules. The Nationals, Angels and Cardinals are also ineligible to enter the lottery for a second consecutive year.

The eligible teams with the three worst records — currently the White Sox, Twins and Pirates — will each be given a 16.5-percent chance to pick first overall. They each will be guaranteed a top-six pick and have almost a 90-percent chance to wind up in the top four.

There doesn’t seem to be a strong early frontrunner like Paul Skenes, Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg in next year’s draft class. But draft analysts suggest the 2026 draft class will be better than the ’25 class, including several prospects that would have gone first overall ahead of Willitts.

Among the players who are expected to receive consideration for the top pick:

UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky — He’s a two-way talent who was probably the best player in college last season (even though Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy won the Golden Spikes Award). Cholowsky hit .353 with 23 home runs and an 1.190 OPS while striking out only 30 times (and drawing 45 walks) in 66 games. He turned down an offer to play quarterback at Notre Dame out of high school.

Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron — His power tool is better than Cholowsky, which may give him the highest ceiling in the class, according to Pitcher List’s Trevor Power. He was inconsistent in his sophomore season, going through slow stretches after hitting 11 home runs in his first 18 games.

Gulliver Prep shortstop Jacob Lombard — The younger brother of Yankees’ top prospect George Lombard Jr., he’s been around the game his entire life. His father is long-time MLB coach George Lombard. He’s a gifted fielder who has a lot of room for physical growth and improvement at the plate but would have been in the conversation with Willitts if he was in the 2025 draft class.

Argyle (Tex.) High shortstop Grady Emerson — A left-handed hitter with impressive bat-total skills, he won the High School Home Run Derby during the All-Star game. His hit tool is considered at least as good as his power tool. MLB values left-handed-hitting shortstops. Think Corey Seager, Gunnar Henderson and Colson Montgomery.

Virginia outfielder AJ Gracia — In his first two years at Duke, Gracia hit .299 with a 1.007 OPS and seemed to make consistent improvement. He’s going to a program that has established himself at a higher level and looks like a certain top-10 pick if he turns in a strong season.

Coastal Carolina right-hander Cameron Flukey — The ace of a team that advanced to the NCAA championship series, Flukey cut his ERA from 5.73 to 3.19 in his sophomore season while based in a hitter’s park. Scouts will be watching to see if he can take another step forward next season.

Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress — After hitting 25 homers in his freshman season, he wasn’t quite as impressive as a sophomore but scouts love his tools. He’s a center fielder now but could wind up serving as a corner outfielder as a pro. His key is his ability to hit for both ability and power.

Texas A&M shortstop Chris Hacopian — After delivering a 1,079 OPS in two seasons at Maryland, he is moving to College Station for his draft-eligible season. He should be one of the NCAA’s top run-producers, with his bat overshadowing questions whether he can play in the middle of the infield as a pro.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High (Fla.) left-hander Gio Rojas — He enters his senior season as the No. 1 pitcher in the prep class. Anyone selected a college player will first have to determine if has the look of a multiple Cy Young winner.

Because the White Sox consistently produced mid-tier teams in the 33 seasons they were run by Ron Schueler, Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn, they went from 1991 until 2008 without a top-10 pick. That run ended with the selection of University of Georgia infielder Gordon Beckham.

MLB instituted anti-tanking rules in 2022 after teams like the Astros, Tigers, Cubs and Rays built pennant-winning teams through the draft.

White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, while not spending heavily on top free agents, had resisted the strategy of purging solid veterans from his roster until trading Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and outfielder Adam Eaton before or during the 2017 season. Those moves led to a quick rebuild before the Sox plunged to 81-81 in ’22 after back-to-back trips to the postseason.

The mid-season trades of Dylan Cease, Lucas Giolito and Michael Kopech in ’23 began a complete overhaul of the organization.

The White Sox have had 10 top-five picks since the amateur draft was instituted in 1965. They’ve had their share of hits (Harold Baines, Jack McDowell, Carlos Rodon) and misses (Danny Goodwin, Kurt Brown and Nick Madrigal).

A little luck in the draft lottery would help this time around.