​The Chicago White Sox made 21 selections in the 2026 MLB Draft and put together a draft class that has the industry buzzing. It started with UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky and was complemented by some of the top high school hitters in the country, along with a handful of powerful college arms.Almost every player the White Sox drafted gives the fan base a reason to be optimistic about their development. One of the clear themes of Chicago’s draft was power, both at the plate and on the mound.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut, of course, the elephant in the room with any draft class is whether a team will actually be able to sign all of its picks. The White Sox had the largest bonus pool of any team in baseball for 2026, but they have already identified one draft pick they do not plan to sign.In the 20th round, the White Sox used their final selection of the draft on Vanderbilt right handed pitcher Connor Fennell, a junior starting pitcher who sits in the upper 80s and lower 90s with his fastball. However, he uses a funky delivery that allows his fastball to play above its velocity and miss bats.As a sophomore at Vanderbilt, Fennell went 6-0 with a 2.53 ERA over 53.1 innings pitched. He also recorded 14.2 strikeouts per nine innings while pitching as both a reliever and a starter. Entering 2026, the expectation was that he could emerge as a frontline starter for the Commodores. But his performance was not consistent enough to match those expectations, and he finished the year 4-2 with a 4.96 ERA.There were still flashes from Fennell, like when he delivered 7.1 innings of one run baseball with nine strikeouts against the Tennessee Volunteers in late March. There can also be no doubt that he is a fiery competitor on the mound.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut according to White Sox director of scouting Mike Shirley, Chicago used its 20th round selection on Fennell strictly as an insurance policy. The White Sox currently do not intend to sign him and expect Fennell to return to the Commodores for the 2027 season, where he can look to reestablish his draft value.According to Shirley, the White Sox are trying to sign third-round pick Joey Volchko for slightly above his slot value of $1.09 million. Fourth-round pick Eric Segura is expected to sign for his slot value of $747,700, while fifth-round pick Cal Scolari is also expected to sign for slightly above his slot value of $547,700.Should something unforeseen arise before those players sign, such as a medical issue, the White Sox would still want to add a high upside college arm to their draft class. They may also have some money become available that would allow them to fall back on their insurance policy with Fennell.But if Volchko, Segura and Scolari all sign as expected, Chicago’s 20th round pick will not be turning pro this year.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFor the time being, every indication is that Fennell is the only White Sox draft pick with legitimate signability con