Despite the fact that the White Sox are on pace to be the worst team in major league history, there’s one thing to be excited about as a White Sox fan, and that is the abundance of talent of starting pitchers in the minor leagues.
Before the 2024 draft, the White Sox already had 8-9 starting pitchers that look like they are going to be in the major leagues within a year or so. Now, after the draft, they added another extremely talented arm in Hagen Smith, who might be better than all of them.
With Drew Thorpe, Jonathan Cannon, and Davis Martin already proving they belong in the major leagues, that complicates the future of the White Sox rotation. There are only five starter spots in an MLB rotation, and there are already three solid starters in Chicago, that doesn’t even count Garrett Crochet, which would make it four.
Assuming Garrett Crochet gets traded in the offseason, there are two rotation spots up for grabs. There is a chance that the White Sox could sign a veteran to add to the rotation, which would complicate things even more and could be a bad move, as it wouldn’t allow the younger arms to get innings, so hopefully they don’t do that.
Besides the pitcher listed above, the White Sox have a ton of starting pitchers in the upper minors who are performing well, so who will make the cut of being a starter? At a certain point, the White Sox may have to pivot some of these starters into relievers to ensure they make it to the major leagues. But who would the White Sox consider moving to the bullpen?
Drew Thorpe and Jonathan Cannon could be long term solutions in the rotation, as they are just 23 and 24. They both have pitched well and have earned a spot. Davis Martin is 27, so he could just be a temporary spot in the rotation until the White Sox inevitably trade him.
So, in the meantime, there are two spots open, with a potential third spot opening within a year or two. If things go according to plan, two of those spots will go to Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz in a year or two, essentially filling out the rotation. So if the White Sox are counting on that, they will have to make the decision on shifting a few upper minor starting pitchers into relievers or trading them for a bat.
Last year, the White Sox traded Cristian Mena for Dominic Fletcher, so there is a chance that Chris Getz could move a starting pitcher or two in a similar move to clear up some of the rotation spots. However, that could be a bit risky, as if some of the arms don’t pan out in the MLB, then there are less options to pivot to. If you convert a starter to a reliever, they can likely return to starting, giving you an extra option.
Mason Adams, Jairo Iriarte, Nick Nastrini, Ky Bush, Jake Eder, and Sean Burke have all shown their potential at their respective levels this past season, making this a very difficult decision. I could see the White Sox converting Burke or Eder into relievers, as their stuff may translate better into that kind of role. But, that still leaves four guys for two spots.
That doesn’t even take into consideration the AA rotation, where a few guys are having great debuts as Barons. Juan Carela, Tyler Schweitzer, and Riley Gowens all have the potential to be solid major leaguers. They could be up in the next year or two as well, so there are plenty of decisions to make.
It is unclear how the White Sox are planning to deal with this backlog, but I wouldn’t mind having 13 of the pitchers in the major leagues, five starting and the other eight in the bullpen. See how these players fare against major league hitters and let that make the decision for them. But, knowing the White Sox, they will figure out a way to mess this up.
