On Wednesday, the 2026 MLB Draft bonus pools were officially announced, revealing that the Chicago White Sox will have one of the largest pools of any team in the league this year.
The Sox will officially have a bonus pool of $17,592,100 to spend on their 2026 draft class, which ranks third in the MLB behind only the Pirates and Rays, who each have additional competitive balance draft picks. The Sox, without any additional comp picks, are set to have the largest bonus pool of any team with just 10 draft picks in the first 10 rounds. Additionally, every team is allowed to spend up to 5% over their bonus pool before being penalized future draft picks, giving the Sox the ability to spend nearly $18.5 million on their draft class. They could increase their pool even further by trading for a competitive balance draft pick from another team, as those are the only types of draft picks the MLB allows teams to trade. Even without that, however, the Sox are set to have a substantial pool to work with.
What might be even more important for the Sox, however, is the fact that their first overall pick will come in at $11,350,600, which is the largest single slot value ever for a draft pick. The expectation is that the Sox will select UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky with that pick and give him the largest signing bonus ever for a draft pick. With the previous record being $9.25 million in 2024, going to both Chase Burns and Charlie Condon, however, that number should still fall well under-slot.
So what does this mean for the White Sox? Not only do they have the opportunity to select the top MLB draft prospect in years, but they will have enough available bonus pool money to “float” draft prospects down the draft board to their later picks with over-slot offers. For instance, if the White Sox give Cholowsky a record-setting $10 million signing bonus, they will have the flexibility to offer their 2nd round draft pick (41st overall) around $4 million if they want, which is equivalent to the value of between the 22nd and 23rd picks in the draft this year. That is well above the $2,446,100 value of their 2nd round pick, but is easily manageable due to the slot value of their #1 overall pick.
In recent drafts, the White Sox have shown a willingness to select college seniors in the top 10 rounds in order to save money, due to a lack of leverage on the prospect’s end. They have then used those savings to offer over-slot bonuses to 4 or 5 of their other draft picks with later round selections than their prospect rank would suggest. They could very well continue this approach in July’s draft and go over-slot in rounds 3-4 as well, but they could also opt for a more conservative approach, knowing they will likely be landing two first-round caliber prospects already. Again, that type of flexibility is offered to the Sox this year because of how landing the #1 overall pick impacts their overall bonus pool. They have all options available at their disposal.
With the draft still over three months away, it remains to be seen exactly what strategy the White Sox opt for. Virtually all options are on the table for the southsiders, even passing on Roch Cholowsky (if they want to see White Sox fans riot) for a cheaper alternative at the top of the draft. Chris Getz and Mike Shirley will have plenty of resources to work with in July, and a plan is likely being formulated as we speak. Buckle up, as this will be the most exciting draft for the White Sox in recent memory.
Full pick-by-pick slot value:
1st Round (1) – $11,350,600
2nd Round (41) – $2,446,100
3rd Round (77) – $1,086,600
4th Round (105) – $747,700
5th Round (137) – $547,700
6th Round (166) – $413,900
7th Round (195) – $325,100
8th Round (225) – $256,500
9th Round (255) – $217,000
10th Round (285) – $200,900
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Featured image: MLB.com
