Roch Cholowsky has an interesting decision to make regarding his future in baseball.
One of the top prospects of the 2023 MLB Draft class, Cholowsky stands to earn a significant amount of money if he signs with whichever team drafts him. But the 17-year-old, two-sport star out of Hamilton High School (Chandler, Ariz.) has already committed to play baseball at UCLA, with the possibility of playing quarterback for the football team as well.
Unlike fellow Arizona-based L.A. transplant Duce Robinson — whose football stardom makes it more feasible for him to play on the gridiron at USC — Rochowsky has much more of a financial incentive to skip college and sign straight away with an MLB team. But there's more to the decision than just money for the UCLA fan.
Will Cholowsky spurn the Bruins for MLB, or honor his commitment to potentially become a two-sport star for UCLA? It's a nuanced decision that likely will be influenced on just how high he's drafted this year.
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Here's everything you need to know about Cholowsky and the impending choice he has to make:
What's next for Roch Cholowsky?
Sign with MLB team
Depending on where Cholowsky is selected in the 2023 draft, he could simply pass up the college experience and sign with an MLB team. He is generally considered a top-50 prospect, which would make him no worse than an early second-round pick in the draft.
Per Baseball America, the slot value of the 44th pick of the 2023 draft — among his lowest rankings on industry big boards — is $1.9 million. Signing with a team makes the most financial sense, even if Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals make it possible for him to earn money while playing in college (though it's unlikely he could generate a similarly lucrative deal).
If he chooses to sign with a team, it will cost him his NCAA eligibility in baseball. But Cholowsky, who also played quarterback for Hamilton, would retain his college football eligibility, allowing him to play concurrently or after his baseball career.
Former MLB draftee and Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden set a precedent Cholowsky could follow: He was a second-round selection by the Yankees in the 2002 MLB Draft before eventually quitting baseball to play quarterback for Oklahoma State from 2007-11. He later became the 22nd overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft.
MORE: Final big board of top 100 2023 MLB Draft prospects
Honor commitment to UCLA baseball
Conversely, Cholowsky could bypass an MLB deal and honor his commitment to play collegiately at UCLA. He could have any number of reasons to play for the Bruins, including a desire to play both baseball and football in college.
According to Sports360AZ, Cholowsky grew up a Bruins fan and had aspirations to play both football and baseball at UCLA. He played in five games as a senior, and visited Notre Dame with the possibility of playing both sports. Other schools reportedly recruited him to play on the gridiron (a three-star prospect, he ranks as 247Sports' 84th best quarterback of the class).
In the end, Cholowsky chose UCLA as his favored team. And when he signed his National Letter of Intent to UCLA baseball in November, he indicated his future was in baseball, not football:
Today @CholowskyRoch was among the 8️⃣ baseball players at @HuskyAthletics1 that signed his NLI.
— Claudia Collins (@ClaudiafCollins) November 9, 2022
Roch had the option to play football & baseball in college but he & his mother @Tcholowsky said his heart has always been in Los Angeles at @UCLABaseball⚾️ pic.twitter.com/5IVaQxhDcs
The more likely reason for Cholowsky to bypass MLB is that he feels he could improve his draft stock by playing for UCLA baseball.
Florida's Brandon Sproat followed a similar path, bypassing both the 2019 and 2022 MLB drafts to finish his college career with a trip to the 2023 College World Series finals. The move appears to have worked for Sproat, who was selected 205th and 90th in the 2019 and 2022 drafts, respectively. The Sporting News' Edward Sutelan projects him as the 41st overall player taken in the 2023 draft.
Of course, Sproat's decisions were different in that he was taken considerably later than Cholowsky is projected to go. Financially speaking, it would be more difficult — but not impossible — for Cholowsky to turn down an MLB contract that comes with a first- or second-round slot value.
MORE: Updated list of picks for all 30 teams in Round 1, competitive balance
Roch Cholowsky MLB mock draft 2023
Perfect Game ranks Cholowsky as the No. 16 overall high school prospect, the fifth overall shortstop and top player out of the state of Arizona.
Sutelan ranks Cholowsky as the 27th-best prospect of the 2023 draft, and projects him to be taken 25th overall by the Padres. Those slots carry values of $2.96 million and $3.16 million, respectively, per Baseball America.
Writes Sutelan of Cholowsky:
A.J. Preller loves going for the big swings, and Cholowsky would be a big swing. He's committed to UCLA as a quarterback and shortstop, and it could be a big ask to pry him away from his two-sport commitment. But if a team believes in his baseball talents enough to go over slot for him, he's a high-upside player with a slick glove at short and plenty of upside in his bat.
And here is where Cholowsky ranks among other industry big boards:
- The Athletic: No. 23
- ESPN: No. 32
- MLB: No. 44
- Baseball America: No. 42
If Cholowsky's selection in the MLB Draft mirrors his rankings in various mock drafts and big boards, it might be too good of a deal for him to pass up.