The White Sox are short on present-day wins, off to a worse 40-game start (11-29) than last year’s 121-loss team.
But their future is on display almost every night in the form of a youthful rotation that has been the team’s best facet so far.
And no starting pitcher has impressed more than Shane Smith, the right-handed Rule 5 pick who has been a heck of a find for Chris Getz’s front office.
Smith was at it again Saturday, tossing six scoreless innings in the Sox’ 3-1 loss to the Marlins, his third scoreless outing this season and his third time completing six innings. He matched a season high with seven strikeouts and dropped his ERA to 2.08 in his rookie campaign.
It was more of the same from Smith, who not only made the rotation out of spring training but has been the best pitcher in it through the season’s first month and a half.
“It’s just a continuation of what we saw in spring,” fellow starter Davis Martin told the Sun-Times last month. “You see what he can do in spring training, and you’re like, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is incredible.’ And he just hasn’t let off the gas. That’s the best way to put it is he’s still hammering down. He’s not happy with what he’s done so far, he wants to continue to be great.
“He’s a guy that’s got incredible stuff, incredible work ethic. An incredible competitor.”
The Sox chose Smith with the first selection in the Rule 5 draft in December, plucking him from the Brewers’ organization at the exact same time as news of the Garrett Crochet trade with the Red Sox was breaking.
Though a trio of highly regarded prospects — Noah Schultz, Hagen Smith and Grant Taylor — are the ones really allowing Sox fans to dream big about their team’s pitching future, the four young hurlers currently on the South Side can work their way into those dreams, too.
It’s only mid-May, but Smith is looking like someone who could be a surprise inclusion in Getz’s long-term plans.
“He’s got four plus, plus pitches that he usually can throw for strikes in any count. And when you can do that, you’re going to have a lot of success at this level, as you can see by his stats so far,” catcher Matt Thaiss told the Sun-Times on Friday. “His demeanor is outstanding on the mound; he never lets anything get to him.
“Especially his last couple starts, he’s been tested a little bit … and has kind of just shown what he’s made of.”
Sore Sox
Infielder Chase Meidroth returned to the Sox’ lineup after being scratched Friday with a sore right shoulder. Meanwhile, Luis Robert Jr. was out of the lineup with a sore right knee, described as day-to-day.
“We have a couple of guys banged up,” manager Will Venable said. “Kind of what you would expect being at the end of a stretch where it’s been 26 [games in 27 days], a really dense part of the schedule here where these nicks and bruises are part of it.
“It’s more one of those than anything we are really concerned about.”
Another arm added
The Sox claimed right-handed pitcher Yoendrys Gomez off waivers from the Dodgers. Gomez has made 15 big-league relief appearances over the last three seasons with the Dodgers and Yankees.
Pitching for the Yankees’ Triple-A team last year, he had a 3.67 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 83⅓ innings, mostly as a starter.
To make room on the 40-man roster, the Sox released outfielder Greg Jones.