KANSAS CITY -- Shane Smith's development as a Major Leaguer was most evident in the clubhouse after the White Sox 3-0 loss to the Royals on Monday at Kauffman Stadium.
Smith once again delivered for the South Siders, tossing five-plus innings of two-run ball. It was the sixth time in seven career starts that Smith has gone at least five innings and allowed two runs or fewer.
But that isn’t enough anymore for last year’s top pick in the Rule 5 Draft.
Smith was more focused -- and frustrated -- on the end of his outing, and in particular the fourth, fifth and sixth frames -- which swung a scoreless tie to the Royals’ favor. Despite not allowing a hit until Bobby Witt Jr. smacked a single in the fourth inning, and giving Chicago a chance to win when he left in the sixth -- Smith wanted more from himself.
“I just got to finish it,” Smith said.
“Make pitches when it counts. That’s really what it comes down to. You can be really good through three innings, but if you’re not good in four, five, six, it doesn’t really matter.”
It’s an unfair ask, to be nearly perfect, but it’s what Smith now expects from himself as he settles into the big leagues. He’s yet to accumulate two months of service time, but Smith has the mindset -- and a track record so far to prove it -- that he can be even better than what he did Monday. His two earned runs actually raised his ERA to 2.41.
But that’s not to take away from what he did accomplish, which was delivering another strong outing. Smith faced one over the minimum through three innings before Witt came around to score in the fourth on a single with the infield drawn in. The real trouble was the fifth, when three straight Royals reached before Andrew Vaughn made a fantastic throw home on a fielder’s choice to nab Jonathan India at the plate, allowing Smith to escape the fifth with just one run across.
“That was huge,” manager Will Venable said. “That’s what his growth and development is all about. These situations where you get in trouble, it’s going to happen, to be able to pitch through it and really minimize damage is, for me, a really good measuring stick of his development and his growth.”
Venable gave Smith the opportunity to pitch into the sixth, but Maikel Garcia worked an 11-pitch walk to get the rookie out of the game on a career-high 91 pitches. It was the first time Smith had thrown more than 83 pitches in the big leagues.
“We’ve seen [his velocity] dip around that time, so for him to hold strong there and continue to make good pitches … [I am] encouraged by his ability to pitch deep in the game,” Venable said.
The ability to keep his velocity was another sign Monday of just how much Smith has grown in a short time. Not only did he keep it up, but he was above his season average velo on all five of his pitches against the Royals.
Smith’s new changeup, which he added this season with the White Sox, has been his most effective pitch. Entering Monday, opponents were slashing .111/.250/.148 in 32 plate appearances against it with just one extra-base hit allowed.
Smith stuck with his fastball 44 times Monday, mixing in his slider (19) and changeup (14) to throw off Royals hitters.
“[The changeup] is a wrinkle that is new, so guys have to figure out how to deal with it, but it’s also a really quality pitch,” Venable said. “It’s been cool, process-wise, to have him come in, introduce that pitch, have him take to it so well and get results with it.”
Smith has received just nine runs of support in 37 1/3 innings (2.17 average), but it was another strong outing for the former undrafted free agent despite Chicago’s fifth shutout.
It’s been just seven starts, but Smith is figuring out not only how to make it in the big leagues, but thrive. And that’s what has impressed Venable the most.
“He finds different ways to attack hitters and I think you see it pretty quickly on a day where it’s the changeup that he really likes and feels good about -- or the slider, or when he mixes in the curveball,” Venable said. “He always does well with the fastball and uses that and is aggressive with it.
“Just his adaptability from start to start, from inning to inning, I think is impressive for such a young guy."