White Sox to rest Hagen Smith, manage other top prospect loads

The White Sox made some slight adjustments with a trio of their top prospects on Tuesday, prior to the Major League team opening a three-game series in Cincinnati.

Hagen Smith, the No. 3 White Sox prospect and No. 30 overall, per MLB Pipeline, will have his next start skipped with Double-A Birmingham. Velocity was fluctuating for Smith, 21, in his last start on May 10 at Columbus, showing some signs of fatigue.

There was a long rain delay, leading to a first pitch of 9:02 p.m. ET, and the southpaw was limited to two hitless innings over just 41 pitches with four strikeouts and two walks. The start was shortened as a precautionary measure, and the skipped start is to help navigate his first full season; he has a 2.10 ERA over seven starts and 25 ⅔ innings to go with 42 strikeouts against 20 walks and 11 hits allowed.

Medically, Smith is in a good spot, according to the White Sox. They want to be proactive in managing his workload and will likely do this from time to time throughout the 2025 season for Smith and others.

Grant Taylor, the No. 7 White Sox prospect, is going to make some appearances out of the Birmingham bullpen. The move helps manage the right-hander’s workload, while getting him some bullpen reps.

Taylor, who turns 23 on May 20, was a second-round White Sox selection in the ‘23 Draft. He was highly impressive during Spring Training, striking out six Dodgers over two innings in an appearance on March 8, and could finish his season with the White Sox as part of his set innings workload. Taylor has a 1.56 ERA over six starts and 17 ⅓ innings for the Barons, with 19 strikeouts, 10 walks and nine hits allowed.

Shortstop Colson Montgomery, 23, returned to Triple-A Charlotte from the ACL White Sox and was in the Knights’ starting lineup at Gwinnett on Tuesday. Montgomery, who dropped out of MLB Pipeline’s Top 100, is the No. 6 White Sox prospect. He battled through a rough enough stretch at the plate for Charlotte (.153/.230/.473 slash line in 111 at-bats) to where the White Sox sent him to Arizona to work on his approach and get away from the daily results-based grind.

Montgomery singled home a run in his first at-bat against Gwinnett, followed by a called strikeout.