Not gonna lie. I don't love the fact that the Rays aren't into Roch. I also don't love the idea of Roch trying to direct where he goes. Both red flags to me.

1 hour ago, DirtySox said:

Not gonna lie. I don't love the fact that the Rays aren't into Roch. I also don't love the idea of Roch trying to direct where he goes. Both red flags to me.

That's like saying I'm not into the prom queen. It's easy to say your "not into" somebody when you have absolutely zero chance at getting them. I put zero stock into that. Who knows if it's even true.

23 hours ago, Chicago White Sox said:

I’d wager some money that all this is posturing and the Sox are taking Roch with the 1.01.

Yeah, I don't buy any of it. I'd confidently put money on it being Roch. I'm not sure if they're trying to drive his price down or if it's just complete BS.

19 minutes ago, ron883 said:

That's like saying I'm not into the prom queen. It's easy to say your "not into" somebody when you have absolutely zero chance at getting them. I put zero stock into that. Who knows if it's even true.

What? In this mock he has the Rays passing on Roch. He falls all the way to the Giants. Three teams pass on the prom queen.

Edited Thursday at 10:28 PM3 days by DirtySox

4 minutes ago, DirtySox said:

What? In this mock he has the Rays passing on Roch. He falls all the way to the Giants. Three teams pass on the prom queen.

Sheesh, for some reason I thought they had a worse pick than #2. I'm used to them always being good.

I still don't buy it though. I think that could be lying on their part while hoping he drops down to them. Would they really be that vocal about how they're "totally out" on the guy and that their scouts don't want him at all?

2 minutes ago, ron883 said:

Sheesh, for some reason I thought they had a worse pick than #2. I'm used to them always being good.

I still don't buy it though. I think that could be lying on their part while hoping he drops down to them. Would they really be that vocal about how they're "totally out" on the guy and that their scouts don't want him at all?

Definitely hard to tell. There's tons of gamesmanship going on. This could all be bullshit, but it's fun to talk about.

14 hours ago, DirtySox said:

the majority of the White Sox scouting department and analytics departments prefer Grady Emerson

If that is really true then I hope that Emerson is the pick and trust that they know more about Rich / Lackey / Emerson than I do.

8 hours ago, DirtySox said:

Rays aren't in on Roch. He is not the guy their scouts or analytics department prefer at all.

This really concerns me to hear and I hope it isn’t posturing. If we take Emerson and the Rays do indeed pass on Roch, I will immediately feel more confident in the pick.

Just really seems tough to pass up on that kid and I’d probably spend a good three plus years obsessing about it.

7 hours ago, DirtySox said:

Not gonna lie. I don't love the fact that the Rays aren't into Roch. I also don't love the idea of Roch trying to direct where he goes. Both red flags to me.

Bingo

My biggest draft question with a week to go. Why is there an assumption that Grady Emerson's ceiling is higher than Roch Cholowsky's?

1 hour ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

My biggest draft question with a week to go. Why is there an assumption that Grady Emerson's ceiling is higher than Roch Cholowsky's?

It’s a good question. Outside of the hit tool, where is he superior?

10 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

It’s a good question. Outside of the hit tool, where is he superior?

5 points on the scouting grade better speed, but not a Witt Jr./de la Cruz type by any stretch of the imagination.

2 hours ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

My biggest draft question with a week to go. Why is there an assumption that Grady Emerson's ceiling is higher than Roch Cholowsky's?

The reason I assume is because if they have the same upside, then they wouldn't be "neck and neck" as to who should go #1: Roch would be far ahead. No way could you justify significantly higher risk for the same reward. And you mentioned in one of your posts that Emerson is not much on defense. So that would mean he has to have even more potential with the bat to compensate for his given deficits on D.

Edited Saturday at 09:04 PM1 day by GreenSox

5 hours ago, GreenSox said:

The reason I assume is because if they have the same upside, then they wouldn't be "neck and neck" as to who should go #1: Roch would be far ahead. No way could you justify significantly higher risk for the same reward. And you mentioned in one of your posts that Emerson is not much on defense. So that would mean he has to have even more potential with the bat to compensate for his given deficits on D.

The easiest part of this is profiling Emerson as the best draft prospect of the group. He combines the high floor of Willits with the size/power upside of Rainer or Holliday, even if Emerson lacks the overall athletic profile of Griffin. I asked scouts a few years ago if there was a Bryce Harper-level generational prep prospect in the pipeline at any class and the answer was either no or "Emerson if he keeps on this trajectory" -- and I'd say Emerson fell just barely below that standard.

Kiley McDaniel espn

Edited yesterday at 02:56 AM1 day by caulfield12

6 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

The easiest part of this is profiling Emerson as the best draft prospect of the group. He combines the high floor of Willits with the size/power upside of Rainer or Holliday, even if Emerson lacks the overall athletic profile of Griffin. I asked scouts a few years ago if there was a Bryce Harper-level generational prep prospect in the pipeline at any class and the answer was either no or "Emerson if he keeps on this trajectory" -- and I'd say Emerson fell just barely below that standard.

Kiley McDaniel espn

I don’t believe a word of that.

6 hours ago, hi8is said:

I don’t believe a word of that.

What would be McDaniel's motivation?

Both top 2 guys are represented by Boras Corp.

Would something like that really sway anyone at all in any front office? Hopefully not.

It would be even more suspicious if he was pushing Lombard Flora Bell etc., wouldn't it?

Scout are always about potential for bigger impacts down the line versus current peaks or maxxing out.

That's precisely why Lackey got so much late run vs. Cholowsky.

8 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

What would be McDaniel's motivation?

Both top 2 guys are represented by Boras Corp.

What? Both Emerson and Roch are represented by Wasserman.

3 hours ago, DirtySox said:

What? Both Emerson and Roch are represented by Wasserman.

Forgot for a second...at any rate, .the very same agency.

(and they also represent Murakami too, right?)

So the point still stands.

Unless it's back to somehow "manipulating" the Sox so he falls all the way down to SFG.

But there was just another post arguing he/Emerson was lukewarm about going to the White Sox.

6 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

But there was just another post arguing he/Emerson was lukewarm about going to the White Sox

Total bullshit.

I’ve watched videos of Roch playing MLB the Show and he was playing as the White Sox.

1 hour ago, hi8is said:

Total bullshit.

I’ve watched videos of Roch playing MLB the Show and he was playing as the White Sox.

Kind of like Rick Hahn's AJ Hinch press conference?

6 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

Kind of like Rick Hahn's AJ Hinch press conference?

No 😆

Woah. New Keith Law mock. Emerson at the top, but also the first time we are hearing that the front office likes Lackey? I have hope! Says the front office has Roch 3rd on their list. Sharing the top 10 picks.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7424299/2026/07/06/mlb-draft-mock-2026-grady-emerson-vahn-lackey/

1 Grady Emerson

School: Fort Worth Christian (North Richland Hills, Texas), Bats: L, Throws: R

At this point, six days out, I think the White Sox are leaning towards Emerson, with Vahn Lackey second and Roch Cholowsky a somewhat distant third. Their scouts seem to favor Emerson — if you like him, you’re hoping he’s the next Kevin McGonigle — whereas I think the front office favors Lackey. Cholowsky is the safer choice here, both in that he’s the most likely to become a solid big leaguer, and as the consensus No. 1 prospect for most of the last year, drafting him is like buying from IBM. (Old tech joke.)

2 Vahn Lackey

School: Georgia Tech, Bats: R, Throws: R

The Rays may have the widest mix in the top three, as it seems like they could still take Lackey, Roch Cholowsky, Jackson Flora or Tyler Bell, the latter on an under-slot deal to preserve some money for subsequent picks. I do get the sense that Lackey is their top choice, as he might be a generational talent and the solution to the Rays’ nearly 30-year problem behind the plate, too.

3 Roch Cholowsky

School: UCLA, Bats: R, Throws: R

The Twins are in the catbird seat here: If you see the top of the draft as a three-man race, the Twins are guaranteed to get one of them. If Cholowsky does get here, they’ll take him. If he doesn’t, then things open up, and they could take model darling Drew Burress or possibly take Jackson Flora.

4 Jacob Lombard

School: Gulliver Prep (Pinecrest, Fla.), Bats: R, Throws: R

One rumor has the Giants wanting Grady Emerson badly enough to go well over slot here to get him. Another is that Buster Posey wants Roch Cholowsky and the Giants even sent former UCLA shortstop Brandon Crawford to go visit the current UCLA shortstop. The reality is that there’s a good chance both guys are off the board here, at which point the Giants are looking at a mix of hitters that includes Lombard, Tyler Bell and Eric Booth Jr.

5 Jackson Flora

School: UC Santa Barbara, Bats: R, Throws: R

The most opaque team in the top 10, the Pirates would take any of those top three names if one fell here. Buster Posey was the No. 5 pick in 2008, and Vahn Lackey has some similarities in his career arc, although they are not similar players — but that’s probably not happening at pick 5. Several sources noted that the Pirates have swung big in several drafts now and have a pretty good hit rate, so don’t be surprised if they go for another high-upside pick here.

6 Mason Edwards

School: USC, Bats: L, Throws: L

The Royals could very well go for Jacob Lombard or Eric Booth Jr., but there’s been a rumor for about two months now that they would love to get a college pitcher here, perhaps on a discount (Edwards would certainly come in well under slot), so they can grab several higher-upside high school picks later on, especially since scouting director Brian Bridges appears to have hit already on recent high school picks Josh Hammond and David Shields. If it’s not Edwards, it could be Logan Reddemann or Liam Peterson, and I believe this would be Jackson Flora’s absolute floor.

7 Eric Booth Jr.

School: Oak Grove HS (Hattiesburg, Miss.), Bats: L, Throws: L

I’ve heard Baltimore with Booth and Jacob Lombard more than anyone else, although I suspect they also would consider Drew Burress or Derek Curiel — or Jackson Flora, if by some crazy chance he got this far.

8 Drew Burress

School: Georgia Tech, Bats: R, Throws: R

Nothing too surprising here — the A’s are connected with college bats primarily, like Burress, Derek Curiel, Ryder Helfrick and maybe Tyler Bell. I can’t imagine a scenario where Flora gets here, but I’m sure they’d just take him if he did.

9 Gio Rojas

School: Stoneman Douglas HS (Parkland, Fla.), Bats: R, Throws: L

The rumor all spring has been that Atlanta wants Drew Burress, but in the last week or two that has seemed much less likely, with Burress in play all the way up to the top three picks. If he’s gone, they’re more likely go with a pitcher, and Rojas is the top high school pitcher in the class.

10 Tyler Bell

School: Kentucky, Bats: B, Throws: R

I think the Rockies are more likely to go hitter than pitcher, and more likely to go college than high school, with Bell, Derek Curiel, Ryder Helfrick and Liam Peterson all possibilities.

Edited 5 hours ago5 hr by DirtySox

I think anything people are hearing right now is purposeful misdirection leaked by front offices in hopes of keeping prices down on guys they like. Roch could be a “distant third” but zero reason for Sox front office members to share that info with the likes of Keith Law, Jim Callis, etc. if true. This is no different than how we should all process leaks at the trade deadline or offseason.

Might be cope, but I feel the less we hear a player connected to the Sox the better. Thus Lackey is the pick. 🙂

I just wonder if the Sox don’t pick Roch, will some on here finally admit he had a disappointing junior season? Ironically, I’m fine if they do pick him. Emerson is the overwhelming favorite though IMO.