White Sox full 2026 MLB Draft class reveals 2 clear trends in strategy

The 2026 MLB Draft is officially in the books and the Chicago White Sox have added 21 players to their organization. Among the players selected: 11 hitters, 10 pitchers, 17 college players and 4 prep players. Roch Cholowsky, of course, headlines the class at the top, with Landon Thome and Cole Prosek marking high-upside prep bats following in the second round. Following the early rounds, the White Sox balanced some safe college picks with a few upside swings, and a deeper look at their class reveals two trends in their strategy. 

Power Pitchers joined the organization in droves

The White Sox selected ten pitchers in the 2026 draft and a common theme among them was big stuff and control issues. The first pitcher off the board was Georgia RHP Joey Volchko, who wields a triple-digit fastball and made headlines for his dominant outing against Texas on the National stage. Oregon righty Cal Scolari and Oklahoma lefty Cameron Johnson both feature fastballs that grade as 55 or better and can flirt with triple-digits, and both have questions about their control and durability that make evaluators wonder whether they’ll end up in the bullpen. In RHPs Luke Crayton, Isaac Yeager, and Darin Horn, the White Sox added college players who have already become bullpen arms that the team hopes will move quickly through the system. 

And of course, the team took a big swing when they landed Pennsylvania prep right-hander Kyle Casteel, who has three potential plus offerings and represents an upside swing on a starter the White Sox believe in. With the White Sox spending big on a few prep players, they needed to find a way to save some money, and college arms are a great way to underslot some players while also adding to an organizational need. The theme among the pitchers the White Sox drafted is plus stuff with a need to clean up their mechanics and refine it. It’s a profile that they’ve had success with in recent years, with Double-A righty Gabe Davis the latest example. 

Power hitters to help the minor league power outage

Power seemed to be a theme in the later rounds on the hitting end as well. Second-round pick Cole Prosek slugged 18 home runs during his senior season at Magnolia Heights High School. Toolsy outfielder Alex Weingartner became the team’s sixth-round pick, and he’s shown some solid power potential in batting practice. College draftees Clay Burdette, Jayson Jones, Matthew Bucciero, Grayson Fitzwater, Braden Holcomb, and Crew McChesney are all hitters with power as a main tool. The White Sox have discussed targeting hitters that fit two of the three main criteria of Contact, Decisions, and Damage, and working on developing the third. It’s clear that damage was an area the White Sox felt their organization needed more of, and they targeted players with big power upside accordingly. 

The four prep players the White Sox selected likely won’t report to an affiliate until next season, but White Sox fans should get to see the majority of the 17 college players in action before the end of the year. Some may move quickly through the system and put themselves on the big league radar in short order, but some may run into adversity. In any case, the White Sox added some power players to their organization this weekend, and that’s a reason for White Sox fans to be excited. 

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