Overview
- Roch Cholowsky was selected No. 1 overall by the Chicago White Sox on Saturday, July 11, giving Chicago a polished college shortstop to bolster its farm-to-major pipeline.
- The Tampa Bay Rays used the No. 2 pick on prep shortstop Grady Emerson and the San Francisco Giants took UC Santa Barbara right-hander Jackson Flora at No. 4 as the first pitcher off the board.
- The first day of the draft heavily favored hitters, with 15 of the first 16 selections coming from position players and eight of the top 10 coming from college programs.
- Jacob Lombard, widely projected as a top-five talent, slid to No. 14 where the Miami Marlins picked him, a draft surprise that underscores teams’ differing risk assessments of prep players.
- Attention now turns to near-term bonus negotiations for top picks—Cholowsky is reported to be expected to sign for about $9.5 million—and to completion of Rounds 5–20 scheduled for Sunday.