Getty

The Giants could pull off one of the most bold moves in the slot era of the MLB Draft if they can convince UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky to sign with them.

The San Francisco Giants are doing their due diligence with the 2026 draft’s top prospect. The organization held a visit with UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, as part of his Sunday column for May 24.

Nightengale wrote, “Buster Posey, Giants president of baseball operations, not only met privately with Cholowsky, but the Giants also had former Giants shortstop great Brandon Crawford meet with Cholowsky. Cholowsky idolized Crawford growing up, and actually sought his advice before attending UCLA.”

The Giants’ interest in Cholowsky is obvious, as he’s one of the most sure prospects in this year’s draft class. He would have been a potential late first-round option in the 2023 cycle, as he was ranked as the No. 44 prospect in the class by MLB Pipeline. However, his UCLA commitment was strong enough that no team bothered taking him that year.

The latest mock draft from MLB Pipeline has Cholowsky going No. 1 overall to the Chicago White Sox. The Giants selected Gulliver Prep shortstop Jacob Lombard at No. 4.

Giants Host Top Prospect in the Draft for Visit

While Nightengale uses the phrase “targeted” in his description of the Giants’ interest in the UCLA shortstop, they currently hold the No. 4 pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. However, the organization’s chances of landing him in the draft are about the same as their postseason odds for 2026. FanGraphs currently has the 22-31 Giants with a 7.9% chance to qualify.

For the Giants to be in a position to draft Cholowsky, it would require the White Sox, Rays, and Twins to pass on him. The Giants could theoretically flip the draft board upside down with an outrageous signing bonus promise to Cholowsky. That is a possibility that Larry Krueger of KNBR brought up, but it would likely require a bonus north of the No. 1 overall pick’s slot value of $11.35 million.

Making such a move would be unprecedented in the draft’s slot era. But it may also require the Giants to go under slot for the rest of their draft to pay off this high-stakes gamble. But if Cholowsky becomes a franchise-level player, this will be a gamble that will make Posey look like a genius in hindsight.

However, there are some serious threats to that strategy. The Rays and White Sox both have larger bonus pools than the Giants, and could therefore be more willing to meet that price. Tampa Bay has the second-largest pool in the draft, behind the Pittsburgh Pirates, at $19 million. Even if Cholowsky’s demands cause the White Sox to back off, Tampa Bay has the financial muscle in the draft to make it work.

Giants Link to Roch Cholowsky Stirs Debate on Social Media

With Nightengale writing about the Giants hosting Cholowsky ahead of the draft, it gives the hint that the club will target the UCLA shortstop with their top pick. That created a bit of a stir on social media, with Marquee Network analyst Lance Brozdowski and Baseball America’s lead draft writer Carlos Collazo opining on the topic.

The other top draft prospects include Fort Worth Christian High School shortstop Grady Emerson and Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey. FanGraphs’ David Laurila cited the 2021 draft, in which Henry Davis went with the top pick instead of Marcelo Mayer, as precedent for a surprise first overall pick.

However, Collazo compares this year’s draft situation to that of 2019. That year, Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman and Colleyville High School shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were in the conversation for that draft’s top pick. Ultimately, Rutschman went first overall to the Baltimore Orioles, and Witt went to the Kansas City Royals with the very next pick.

With this potential subplot added to the draft, it will be interesting to see if the White Sox, Rays, or Twins try to call any potential bluff by Cholowsky’s camp. All it takes is one of the three teams to do so to foil this potential gamble by the Giants.