Hagen

Smith

Noah Schultz was the starter in the other split-squad game for the White Sox today, and both of the top pitching prospects for Chicago struggled while giving up a combined eight runs and 10 walks. Baseball is hard, and while Smith was the fifth pick of last year’s draft and should pitch in the upper levels, his fantasy relevance likely won’t start until 2026.

Schultz and Smith are the two top prospects in the White Sox system but were always longshots to make the Opening Day roster. Eder and Iriarte will be only one step away from the big leagues and could get a chance to pitch meaningful MLB innings this season.

The fifth-overall pick from the 2024 MLB Draft, Smith was an absolute strikeout machine during his collegiate career at the University of Arkansas. The 21-year-old left-hander, who checked in at 208 overall in Rotoworld’s latest dynasty rankings update, is one of the most dynamic pitching prospects in the game and should move quickly this season through Chicago’s minor-league system. He averaged 97 mph on his fastball and displayed an impressive slider in his spring debut. We can’t dismiss the possibility that he’ll be ready for the big leagues at some point in a few months.

Smith gets an $8,000,000 bonus; the largest for any left-handed pitcher in the draft’s history. The southpaw put up fantastic numbers for Arkansas in 2024 with a 2.04 ERA and 161 strikeouts. He’s considered to have some of the more advanced stuff of any pitcher in the class, and he could help the White Sox by the end of 2025.

Smith was far from an unknown coming into the draft, but he certainly saw his stock rise after improving his ERA from 3.64 from the previous season to a 2.04 mark in 2024, and increasing his strikeouts from 109 to 161. The southpaw hurler has two pitches that have a chance to grade 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale in his fastball (93-96 mph and occasionally up to 100), and slider, and he’ll also show a decent splitter for good measure. A less-than-picturesque delivery creates deception, but also can create some command issues at times. Smith should be able to miss bats at the highest level, and he just might be the best pitching prospect in this draft.