Who goes No. 1 in the Draft? Here are the odds and the case for each candidate

The start of the 2026 MLB Draft is just days away. On Saturday, shortly after 1 p.m. ET, the White Sox will answer the question everyone has been waiting to have answered: Who will be the No. 1 pick?

In these final days, the White Sox still have three players they are discussing for that first overall selection: Texas high school shortstop Grady Emerson, UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky and Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey. Those are the top three prospects, in order, on MLB Pipeline’s current Draft Top 250 prospects list.

2026 MLB DRAFT PRESENTED BY NIPPON EXPRESS

Day 1: Saturday, July 11 (Rounds 1-4)

• 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET - Picks 1-10 (NBC/Peacock)

• 2:30-4:30 p.m. ET - Picks 11-40 (MLB Network, MLB.com, MLB TV, MLB+)

• 4:30-7:45 p.m. ET - Picks 41-135 (MLB.com, MLB TV, MLB+)

Day 2: Sunday, July 12 (Rounds 5-20)

• 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. ET (MLB.com, MLB TV, MLB+)

Coverage

Everything you need to know | Draft prospect guides

Who will go 1-1? | Top tools | Bonus pools, pick values

Top 250 | Breaking down the list | Golden Spikes Award

Latest mock draft | Tracker | Order | Complete coverage

They're not on the same plane in terms of how likely they are to go in the top spot though. The general consensus is that it's a two-man race, with Emerson and Cholowsky pretty much even with each other as the only true contenders. Lackey is on the outside looking in, still being discussed only as a contingency plan.