LOS ANGELES — UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky and Huntington Beach High pitcher Jared Grindlinger are among the local standouts projected to be drafted in the first round of the 2026 MLB draft on Saturday.
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Cholowsky batted .329 with 51 career home runs with the Bruins with an impressive .448 on-base percentage and a .624 slugging percentage for a 1.072 OPS while Grindlinger developed into one of the nation’s quality arms.
The 17-year-old left-hander Grindlinger carries a fastball that runs in the mid-90s along with a slider and a changeup that scouts believe could make him one of the next aces from Southern California like Gerrit Cole (Orange Lutheran) and Lucas Giolito (Harvard-Westlake). Grindlinger can also hit, batting .376 with 41 hits, 10 doubles and 26 runs scored for Huntington Beach.
He’s committed to the University of Tennessee, where his brother Trent is playing. Grindlinger is projected to go between the sixth and 16th selections and could be available for the Angels at No. 12.
While Grindlinger might take some time to develop, Cholowsky is ready to come out of college and enter the big leagues sooner rather than later. He is expected to be picked either first overall by the Chicago White Sox or second by the Tampa Bay Rays.
The 6-foot-2, 208-pound Cholowsky proved to have the physical upside while playing in 178 career games and guiding the Bruins to a College World Series appearance in 2025.
And there’s plenty of recognized support for Cholowsky in UCLA coach John Savage and his Hamilton High School (Chandler, Arizona) coach Mike Woods.
Savage guided UCLA to the CWS in 2013 and finished 2026 with a 52-8 record. UCLA was the top-ranked program throughout the 2026 regular season with Cholowsky as its leading man.
“There were times through this season and about every ground ball, every at-bat, pitch and he was under the microscope all season long,” Savage said. “He loved being part of this program. We won the most games over the last two years and it was his leadership and unselfishness. The goal was winning every series, and we did until the playoffs. He’s also learned that bouncing back is important before becoming a professional.”
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Even when UCLA was stunned in the Los Angeles Regional by Saint Mary’s, Savage saw Cholowsky take the lead for his team in defeat.
“He handled himself in the ways you wanted him to handle it with as many highs as he did,” Savage said. “There were no tantrums, body language, finger pointing. He took it upon himself and knew what he needed to do for the team.”
Woods has known Cholowsky since the seventh grade and watched him grow up from being slightly undersized in middle school to rising and becoming a team leader throughout his high school career.
He had seen the kind of talent Cholowsky displayed with Woods having coached New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger. But there was something different Woods saw early on. It helped that Cholowsky’s father Dan had been drafted in the second round (39th overall) by the St. Louis Cardinals.
There was maturity as well as a curiosity within Cholowsky that helped him throughout his high school career.
“He made those around him better,” Woods said. “It was about knowing the game, knowing the things he says and he knows what he’s talking about before going out there to display it in his game. He had that glean, that education from him and he understands the concept of team. He cares about winning. Some younger kids are concerned about their development but he cared about winning. It’s really about walking the walk and competing like hell. Other kids see that as an example of what they want to follow.”
The draft starts Saturday at 10 a.m. PT with the first four rounds and continues through Sunday with rounds five through 20.
Other potential first-round selections from the region include USC pitcher Mason Edwards (a former Palisades High standout) and UCLA pitcher Logan Reddemann. James Clark of St. John Bosco and Logan Schmidt of Ganesha are also potential Saturday selections.
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