First round picks for Chicago Cubs, White Sox in 2026 MLB Draft

The 2026 Major League Baseball Draft is taking place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Rounds 1 through 4 happening on Saturday. 

In the first round, both the Chicago White Sox and Cubs made their selections—but the highly anticipated selection belonged to the White Sox with their acquisition of UCLA's 6-foot-2 right-handed hitter Roch Cholowsky.

The team followed up with the No. 34 selection of Landon Thome, who, as a senior, played at Nazareth Academy High School in La Grange Park, Illinois. He is also the son of slugger Jim Thome, who played with the White Sox from 2006 to 2009. 

For the Cubs, their first pick came at No. 23 with the 6-foot-1 righty from Ole Miss, Cade Townsend, who had a strong showing this spring as a draft-eligible sophomore after struggling with his control as a freshman.

Currently, the White Sox are sitting in first place in the American League Central Division and are half a game ahead of the Cleveland Guardians. It's the first time the team has been in this position later than the first 11 games of the season since winning the division in 2021.   

Meanwhile, the Cubs are sitting in second place in the National League Central Division and are seven games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. 

Rounds 5 through 20 in the 2026 MLB Draft will take place on Sunday.