White Sox’s Hagen Smith Poised For Big Things In First Full Season

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In striking out nearly half of his Southeastern Conference opponents last year in his first season in the Arkansas rotation, lefthander Hagen Smith presents the White Sox with a narrow path to tread.

“From a skill-set standpoint, he could pitch in the big leagues probably pretty soon, assuming health,” White Sox farm director Paul Janish said.

In sending Smith straight to High-A Winston-Salem to make his pro debut over three short outings, the White Sox didn’t expect the 21-year-old to be challenged, but they wanted to gauge the fifth overall pick’s workload capacity.

“He didn’t say it, but you could tell his body was kind of out of gas,” White Sox pitching coordinator Matt Zaleski said. “He was going from September of (2023), and not having him (at instructional league) was just giving his body a little bit of a break.”

The White Sox have roughly 110 innings in mind for Smith this season, which is a small bump from 91.2 he shouldered between college and pro ball in 2024.

But if his mid-90s fastball with rising and running life and high-80s sweeper are restored to last year’s heights, he could power his way quickly through the minors.

As shown last year with Jairo Iriarte and Jake Eder, White Sox senior advisor to pitching Brian Bannister is fond of introducing starters to the majors with late-season auditions in the bullpen.

Nodding to the strength of his heater and slider, Zaleski and Bannister have cautioned against viewing Smith’s changeup as mandatory for long-term success. Not wanting to alter Smith’s supination bias, Bannister has suggested his third pitch could wind up being a cutter or slow curveball.

This winter, Smith decided to simply work on both pitches. He spent his offseason working on a splitter—a pitch that does not require him to pronate—alongside a cutter he said has looked as good as any pitch in his bullpens.

The progress of both will be on display at major league camp this spring.

“I don’t really know what to expect,” Smith said of the invitation. “But just getting the phone call that they want me there is really cool.”

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