What To Know About 2026 MLB Draft Lottery and White Sox Outlook
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A few ping pong balls could go a long way in forecasting the White Sox future.
For the fourth time in history, the MLB Draft order will be determined by a lottery system. The draft order used to be based on the previous season's standings, but now there's a bit more intrigue and unknown for many teams.
The White Sox are one of 15 teams with a chance to receive the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, and that will be determined Tuesday at the winter meetings in Orlando, Fla. The draft lottery show is scheduled for Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. ET, and it will be broadcast on MLB Network and streamed on MLB.com. The 2026 MLB Draft is scheduled for July 11 in Philadelphia.
2026 MLB Draft Lottery odds
The Colorado Rockies had the worst record in MLB in 2025 at 43-119, but teams cannot receive a lottery pick more than two years in a row, so the Rockies aren't eligible for the 2026 lottery after being included the previous two drafts.
That means the White Sox, after going 60-102 in 2025, are given the highest odds to receive the No. 1 overall pick. The Nationals and Angels are also not eligible for the lottery as "payor clubs," which means they give rather than receive revenue sharing dollars and cannot receive a lottery pick in consecutive years.
Playoff teams from the previous season are not eligible for the lottery either, which leaves 15 teams in contention to receive the No. 1 overall pick in 2026. Here are the odds to do so.
- White Sox: 27.73%
- Twins: 22.18%
- Pirates:16.81%
- Orioles: 9.24%
- Athletics: 6.55%
- Braves: 4.54%
- Rays: 3.03%
- Cardinals: 2.35%
- Marlins: 1.85%
- D-backs: 1.51%
- Rangers: 1.34%
- Giants: 1.01%
- Royals: 0.84%
- Mets: 0.67%
- Astros: 0.34%
- Rockies: ineligible
- Nationals: ineligible
- Angels: ineligible
Top 2026 draft prospects
(rankings per MLB.com)
Ranking | Player | Position | School | Age/Height/Weight | Bats/Throws |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Roch Cholowsky | Shortstop | UCLA | 20, 6'2"/195 | R/R |
2 | Grady Emerson | Shortstop | Forth Worth Christian School (TX) | 17, 6'2"/180 | L/R |
3 | Justin Lebron | Shortstop | Alabama | 21, 6'2"/180 | R/R |
4 | Jacob Lombard | Shortstop | Gulliver Prep (FL) | 18, 6'3"/185 | R/R |
5 | Drew Burress | Outfield | Georgia Tech | 21, 5'9"/182 | R/R |
6 | Derek Curiel | Outfield | LSU | 20, 6'2"/182 | L/L |
7 | Carson Bolemon | LHP | Southside Christian School (SC) | 18, 6'4"/210 | R/L |
8 | Gio Rojas | LHP | Stoneman Douglas High School (FL) | 18, 6'4"/190 | R/L |
9 | Cameron Flukey | RHP | Coastal Carolina | 20, 6'6"/210 | R/R |
10 | Sawyer Strosnider | Outfielder | TCU | 20, 6'2"/200 | L/L |
No. 1 overall picks from last 10 years
- 2025: Eli Willits, SS, Washington Nationals
- 2024: Travis Bazzana, 2B, Cleveland Guardians
- 2023: Paul Skenes, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates
- 2022: Jackson Holliday, SS, Baltimore Orioles
- 2021: Henry Davis, C, Pittsburgh Pirates
- 2020: Spencer Torkelson, 1B, Detroit Tigers
- 2019: Adley Rutschman, C, Baltimore Orioles
- 2018: Casey Mize, RHP, Detroit Tigers
- 2017: Royce Lewis, SS, Minnesota Twins
- 2016: Mickey Moniak, OF, Philadelphia Phillies
White Sox last 10 first-round picks
- 2025: Billy Carlson, SS, Corona High School (Calif.) (No. 10)
- 2024: Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas (No. 5)
- 2023: Jacob Gonzalez, SS, Mississippi (No. 15)
- 2022: Noah Schultz, LHP, Oswego East High School (Ill.) (No. 26)
- 2021: Colson Montgomery, SS, Southridge HS (Ind.) (No. 22)
- 2020: Garrett Crochet, LHP, Tennessee (No. 11)
- 2019: Andrew Vaughn, 1B/LF, California (No. 3)
- 2018: Nick Madrigal, 2B, Oregon State (No. 4)
- 2017: Jake Burger, INF, Missouri State (No. 11)
- 2016: Zack Collins, C, University of Miami (No. 10)
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Jack Ankony is the beat writer for “Chicago White Sox on SI.” He has been with the Sports Illustrated network since 2022. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism in 2022. Follow Jack on Twitter @ankony_jack
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