White Sox southpaws Schultz, Smith headed to Arizona Fall League

CHICAGO -- White Sox prospects Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith -- the No. 1 and No. 3 left-handed pitching prospects the Major Leagues, per MLB Pipeline -- will be going to the Arizona Fall League following the 2025 Minor League season.

Schultz was Chicago’s top pick (26th overall) in the 2022 Draft. Smith held the same distinction in ‘24 at No. 5 overall.

White Sox general manager Chris Getz made the announcement during his media session prior to Friday’s series opener with the Guardians at Rate Field.

“We've got a pretty solid group this year,” said Getz of his team’s AFL representation. “Unfortunately, Noah and Hagen have missed some time, so we're going to continue their development season in the Fall League. We look forward to watching that play out."

Smith, 21, has a 3.60 ERA and 75 strikeouts with a .162 batting average against over 50 innings for Double-A Birmingham. He also has walked 37. Smith (the White Sox No. 3 prospect overall) was bothered by left elbow soreness with the Barons, and after his velocity fluctuated during a two-inning outing on May 10, the White Sox sent him on a mechanics reset until June 28.

Schultz, 22, was scratched from a start for Triple-A Charlotte on July 19 with right knee discomfort and has not pitched in a game for the Knights since July 3. Schultz (the White Sox No. 1 prospect) allowed four runs on four hits over two-thirds of an inning while pitching in the All-Star Futures Game on July 12 in Atlanta.

“He's progressing well,” Getz said of Schultz. “That soreness seems to be very minimal at this point. Obviously, that front knee is such a big piece of what a pitcher can do in terms of both velocity and location.”

With Schultz at 68 innings overall, including an 11.91 ERA over 11 1/3 innings for Charlotte, he will join Smith in moving to their desired total for 2025 in Arizona. Schultz, who has 71 strikeouts and 44 walks over stops with Charlotte and Birmingham, threw 88 1/3 innings in ‘24.