White Sox top pitching prospect Noah Schultz is heading to the big leagues. The left-hander is expected to make his big-league debut on Tuesday against the Rays. Elijah Evans of Just Baseball first reported Schultz’s promotion.
Chicago has a gap in the rotation with Opening Day starter Shane Smith sent down on Wednesday. Jonathan Cannon is expected to join the club on Sunday. The righty will be an option to work behind opener Grant Taylor against the Royals, but it appears he might not be taking over the No. 5 starter gig.
Schultz is off to a strong start at Triple-A. He fired four hitless innings in his first outing of the campaign. He followed that up by allowing one earned run over five frames in consecutive starts. Schultz has a massive 40.4% strikeout rate through 14 minor league innings. He’s permitted just six base runners.
MLB Pipeline ranks Schultz behind only outfielder Braden Montgomery in Chicago’s farm system. FanGraphs’ James Fegan also had the lefty in the No. 2 spot over the winter, but with third baseman Caleb Bonemer in the top spot. The White Sox spent a first-round pick on Schultz in 2022. He’s moved quickly through the minors, reaching Triple-A before his 21st birthday.
Schultz breezed through the lower levels of the minors. He posted a 1.33 ERA with a 36.5% in 27 innings at Single-A in 2023. The massive 6’10”, 240-pound lefty pushed his workload to 88 1/3 frames the following year. He maintained a 2.24 ERA and punched out hitters at a 32.1% clip between High-A and Double-A.
The 2025 campaign was a bit of a roadblock for multiple reasons. Schultz still prevented runs at a decent rate at Double-A, but his strikeout rate fell to 23.2%, and his walk rate ballooned to 14.4%. He was blasted for 17 earned runs in 16 1/3 innings after getting moved up to Triple-A. Schultz issued free passes at a concerning 11.7% rate with Charlotte. Knee issues also limited him in the second half, though he was cleared of any concern heading into 2026.
Outside of Smith’s disastrous three starts, Chicago’s rotation has pitched reasonably well to begin the year. The unit has combined for a 3.99 ERA, which ranks 14th in the league. Davis Martin, Erick Fedde, Anthony Kay, and Sean Burke all have sub-4.00 ERAs so far. Taylor as an opener has worked swimmingly, with the righty tossing three scoreless frames with just one hit allowed across a trio of “starts.” The White Sox skewed righty-heavy last season, outside of a Martin Perez cameo, but Schultz will give them two southpaws in the mix (along with Kay).
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
6’10?!
6’11 actually. Baseball reference has that recorded wrong.
Maybe 6’10” with no shoes and wet hair.
MLB also has him at 6’10”
I think there were more accurate measurements taken this year for ABS that are making players shorter than last year. No more typical male add an inch or two to the real height.
Sox choosing to promote a big time prospect before the prospect deadline is something a bit new.
Yes!!
Let’s go? Maybe they actually care about winning? Division as strong but hyped to see the kid pitch.
They cant score though. Will have no decisions and tough luck losses.
I like this move a lot. If he cracks top 3 in ROY do the Sox get an extra draft pick?
Nope, had to be on the opening day roster. But when he places in top 3 for Cy within two years, they will!
I think he gets the ball tomorrow after Taylor opens the game. Caglionone is going to take him deep.
I dont think he will be up for the remainder of the season. He is going to be a good pitcher sooner than later but I watched highlights of his start the other day, he didnt look all that great to me. I think he is going to get shelled.
I Noah Schultz, but it’s not this one.