White Sox No. 1 Pick Roch Cholowsky Quickly Finding a Groove in the Minors
In this story:
Roch Cholowsky is starting to find a rhythm.
The Chicago White Sox' No. 1 overall draft pick officially started his journey to the majors this week. After getting in some work in Arizona, the organization chose to option Cholowsky to their High-A affiliate, the Winston-Salem Dash.
All things considered, his August 4 debut left something to be desired. The highly-touted prospect failed to hit his way on base and recorded two strikeouts. He did at least draw the first walk of his minor league career, but it was a quiet night for the UCLA star at shortstop.
One night later, with the jitters out of the way, Cholowsky made some noise. His first at-bat ended in a five-pitch walk. Jump ahead one inning, and Cholowsky's first hit with the Dash was a well-placed grounder that rolled through the middle of the infield and tied the game at 1-1. Cholowsky would make his way to second thanks to some sloppy defense by the center fielder.
Roch Cholowsky’s first hit with the Winston-Salem Dash! 👏 pic.twitter.com/g51j4aC1cI
— Winston-Salem Dash (@WSDashBaseball) August 5, 2026
He didn't waste much time before recording his second RBI. With the bases loaded, Cholowsky sent the ball toward third, reaching on a fielding error and helping his squad take a 5-1 lead. It may not have been how he drew it up, but the youngster will take what he can get!
Building off the momentum of his second showing, Cholowsky showed up in true No. 1 prospect form in his third game.
Roch Cholowsky Hits First Homer with White Sox Org
Roch Cholowsky helped the Winston-Salem Dash pull off a 14-7 victory with 2 hits and 5 RBIs on Thursday night.
While he started the game with a pop-up and ground out, Cholowsky's third at-bat featured a sharp liner to the warning track to score two and put the White Sox up 7-2. It was an extremely well-hit ball, especially considering the circumstances.
Fast forward to the bottom of the fifth, and Cholowsky stepped into the batter's box with a runner on first and second. He quickly found himself down 1-2 in the count before a pitch found the middle of the zone. Cholowsky proceeded to show off his power with a hard swing that sent a bullet out over the right field wall.
He officially had his first minor league home run, and it was a 3-run blast.
Roch Cholowsky is on the board!
— MLB (@MLB) August 7, 2026
His first pro homer was an absolute ROCKET 🚀 pic.twitter.com/1o2qu2tSmW
To be honest, this may have been an even better homer for Cholowsky than a towering no-doubter. It really speaks to what made him such a reputable prospect. The swing is downright tantalizing, as is the power that he can put behind it. He didn't even look like he was confident that it was headed out the park, but it flew over the wall easily.
As far as opening three minor league games go, it's hard not to like the immediate trajectory. Cholowsky has looked more and more comfortable each game, and already looks like one of the best bats on the Dash.
To be sure, the sample size is small, and development isn't always linear. But many have believed that Cholowsky could work his way up the farm system fast, and there is no reason to believe yet that this can't be the case.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Elias Schuster is a sports journalist and content creator from the northern suburbs of Chicago. A graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he has covered the Bulls since 2019-20 and previously served as the editor of BN Bulls at Bleacher Nation. He has been the Publisher for Bulls On SI since December of the 2025-26 season. When he isn't obsessing over hoops, Elias spends his time obsessing over practically every other sport – much to his wife's dismay. He also loves strolling the streets of Chicago for the best cozy bar or restaurant to set up shop and write his next article.
Follow Schuster_Elias