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College baseball insider compares UCLA's Roch Cholowksy to Derek Jeter

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones19 hours agobrianjones_93

A college baseball insider believes that UCLA‘s Roch Cholowsky is similar to Baseball Hall of Famer Derek Jeter. On SiriusXM, Patrick Ebert of D1Baseball explained what makes Cholowsky like the New York Yankees legend.

“Roch Cholowsky is just a next-level player,” Ebert said. “I think what really makes him special is his leadership qualities, like all the things that he does kind of off the field. We know what he can do on the field. We’ve seen the big hits, we’ve seen the glove, we’ve seen the plays that he can make.”

Ebert said that he talked to Cholowsky and revealed that he “has a humility to him, but he also has this presence about him. After I talked to him and met him a year ago, the first person I thought of was Derek Jeter, being that captain of the squad, just knowing your role, stepping forward, and being that presence that you can’t put a price tag on.”

Roch Cholowsky is a big reason the UCLA baseball team is ranked No. 1. This season, the 21-year-old has registered a .338 batting average with 21 home runs and 59 RBIs in 51 games.

Can Roch Cholowsky have a Derek Jeter-like MLB career?

It’s expected that Cholowsky will be selected by the Chicago White Sox No. 1 overall in this year’s MLB Draft. Ryan Phillips of Sports Illustrated wrote, “Cholowsky is 6’2″ and 200 pounds, and has outstanding raw power to mix with good swing decisions—he’s walked more than he’s struck out in college. He has average-at-best speed, but should stick at shortstop thanks to good actions and instincts, paired with a plus arm. His stranglehold on this spot has weakened this spring, but he’s still the likely pick.”

If Cholowsky can have a pro career like Derek Jeter’s, he will join the five-time World Series champion in Cooperstown. Jeter spent his entire career with the Yankees (1995-2014) and was named AL Rookie of the Year in 1996. From there, Jeter went on to be named an All-Star 14 times, win five Gold Gloves, claim five Silver Slugger awards, and be named World Series MVP in 2000. The Yankees have retired Jeter’s No. 2, and he was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020.