LOS ANGELES — UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky was chosen No. 1 by the Chicago White Sox as the first top pick drafted out of UCLA since Gerrit Cole in 2011. Huntington Beach High pitcher Jared Grindlinger was chosen 12th overall by the Angels to start the MLB draft.
Read more Roch Cholowsky, Jared Grindlinger are likely early picks in MLB draft
Here’s where Cholowsky, Grindlinger and several Southern California hopefuls landed on the first day of the MLB draft from rounds 1-5.
Roch Cholowsky, UCLA, SS, Chicago White Sox (1st pick, 1st round)
Cholowsky brings a leadership intangible essential to helping UCLA finish 52-8. Cholowsky batted .329 with 51 career home runs with the Bruins with a .448 on-base percentage and a .624 slugging percentage for a 1.072 OPS. He is a proven workhorse, having played in 178 career games. Cholowsky comes to the White Sox, who are tied for first in the AL Central. He is being compared to Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson, but with a better bat. Cholowsky will look to aid a White Sox organization that has found success with second-year Colson Montgomery (.222 batting average, 23 home runs, 53 RBI, 30 walks, 2.1 WAR through 89 games).
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Jared Grindlinger, Huntington Beach, LHP/OF, Angels (1st round, 12th selection)
Grindlinger is unique in his ability to make action happen. Not only does he carry a quality fastball with a maximum velocity of 96 MPH with a quality slider and a changeup. He proved to be a dynamic hitter as well. Grindlinger slashed .376/.440/.560 and finished 2026 with 41 hits, 10 doubles and 26 runs scored for Huntington Beach. Could he be a two-way player? A left-handed version of Shohei Ohtani? There’s plenty of time for the Angels to figure that out with Grindlinger, who is set to turn 18 years old on July 14. He is committed to play baseball at Tennessee where his older brother Ethan plays. But playing close to home might be too good an opportunity to pass up, with the Angels in dire need of another star to aid Mike Trout.
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Roch Cholowsky, Jared Grindlinger are likely early picks in MLB draft
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