The White Sox are being extra cautious with their top pitching prospect Noah Schultz. On Monday White Sox pitching coordinator Matt Zaleski told reporters that the team is trying to ease Schultz into the season to keep their prized left-hander healthy.
“Right now, he’s doing live BPs,” Zaleski said. “We have his first game going on the 16th. Just a slow build-up process and kind of treat him more towards the Tommy John rehab. Shoot for 65 to 80 innings.”
It’s wise for the White Sox to err on the side of caution. Schultz has only thrown 27 professional innings and has already dealt with some injury concerns. Before the 2023 season, he suffered a flexor strain in Spring Training which delayed his professional debut. On top of the flexor strain, he also missed some time due to a “shoulder impingement” which landed him on the IL in August.
Schultz is the most exciting left-handed pitching prospect the White Sox have had since Chris Sale. His 6-foot-9 frame and low left-handed arm slot drew comparisons to Randy Johnson and Sale after being selected by the White Sox with the 26th pick in the 2022 MLB draft.
White Sox pitching coordinator Matt Zaleski on the plans for Noah Schultz: "Right now, he’s doing live BPs. We have his first game going on the 16th. Just a slow build up process and kind of treat him more towards the Tommy John rehab. Shoot for 65 to 80 innings.”
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) March 11, 2024
Unfortunately, that low arm slot can place extra strain on his pitching arm, which Sale found out the hard way. The White Sox former ace missed part of the 2018-19 seasons with shoulder and elbow inflammation and then missed the entire 2020 season due to Tommy John surgery during his tenure in Boston.
The White Sox are hoping to avoid that with Schultz. The 50th overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, told reporters that he has made an effort to take better care of his body this offseason, starting with a better diet. Schultz told reporters that he has even begun to try his hand at cooking this offseason to help in that endeavor.
“Definitely taking care of my body more. Eating better. Into cooking more,” Schultz said. “Recovery with my mind, baseball, and everything. Just all around becoming better so I can stay on the field this year,”
It’s easy to forget that Schultz is just 20 years old. He was graded as one of the top left-handed pitching prospects in the game by ESPN this offseason and also received national recognition by being ranked among the Top 100 prospects in baseball by Baseball Prospectus, MLB Pipeline, and Baseball America.
“Still a very young pitcher. Physically he’s gotten a lot stronger. The stuff is, his pitch quality is elite. It really is, let alone coming out of the hand of a 6-foot-9 lefty. Get him through a healthy season,” White Sox general manager Chris Getz said on Cactus League media day when discussing the priorities for Schultz this season.
Schultz boasts a three-pitch mix that includes a fastball, slider, and changeup. Scouts say his slider was one of the best of his Draft class due to its high spin rate and the tough angle his tall 6-foot-9 frame creates on left-handed hitters. It is one of the reasons MLB.com listed his slider as one of the best pitchers in the minor leagues. His fastball can touch 97 mph which adds to the difficulty of teeing up his low-80s, high-spinning, sweeping slider. As a result, Schultz struck out 36.5 percent of batters faced in Single-A Kannapolis last season. The southpaw posted a 1.33 ERA and 0.85 WHIP in ten starts in Single-A while limiting opponents to a .175 batting average.
Since being drafted he has developed a two-seam fastball and is currently working on a sinker. Schulz says his goal for the upcoming season is to continue to gradually improve.
“There’s always something I can focus on,” Schultz told MLB.com. “Always ways to get better every day, but I would say specific things are command, staying healthy, location a little bit of everything.”
