Rookie left-hander Noah Schultz is scheduled to take his turn in the White Sox’ rotation next week against the Yankees. Whether he takes the one after that remains to be seen.
General manager Chris Getz is looking for pitching help, and Schultz’s struggles could make him the odd man out. He’s coming off an outing in which he lasted 3⅔ innings, tying the shortest of his 12 starts this season. With veterans Anthony Kay and Erick Fedde not providing enough length consistently, the Sox can’t afford to have Schultz provide even less.
The trade deadline Aug. 3 comes one day after Schultz would pitch again. It’s fair to wonder whether he or an acquisition will make that start.
Schultz might need a reset in Triple-A anyway. Since returning from the injured list July 1, Schultz has allowed 13 earned runs and 24 hits in 18 innings (6.50 ERA). He allowed five runs and 11 hits Tuesday against the Rangers.
“He’s been working so hard and working on being in the zone, and that is something obviously he was able to do his last start,” manager Will Venable said. “Maybe it came at the cost of a little downtick in some of the stuff. I think his fastball was down maybe a mile an hour on average.
“You’re just not seeing those swing-and-misses in the zone. While he’s done such a good job to get into the zone, we’ve got to make sure that we’re getting back to that really crisp stuff and trying to get it in the zone. He’s got a lot to work on, but I think he’s taking steps forward.”
One of those steps is reducing his walks. After walking seven in 9⅓ innings in his first two starts back from a knee injury, Schultz hasn’t walked anyone in his last two starts, spanning 8⅔ innings.
“We’re working on just staying loose, a lot of drills to keep me loose,” Schultz told the Sun-Times before heading out to throw in the bullpen. “We found I was just too tense when I was coming set. That led to some inconsistencies with delivery. We think that helped.”
Schultz has pitched out of the stretch since he was 14 because of his long frame, which is now 6-10, 240 pounds.
“The less moving parts, the better,” he said. “We’ve learned that with the long limbs, the shorter and quicker the delivery can be, the less room for error there is.”
But there’s still enough error. Schultz has been working to get more chase on his two-strike pitches. He’s capable of racking up the strikeouts, averaging nearly eight per nine innings this season. Venable thinks Schultz can make such adjustments in bullpen sessions.
“That’s what we’re trying to do here,” Venable said. “We evaluate every time through [the rotation]. What’s our best five to get us through this? He’s working so hard to make these adjustments, has been able to make some. We just gotta put it all together.”
The Sox are trying to balance developing their young players while making a playoff push. It’s a tough tightrope to walk. They’ve been managing it with Schultz, and he knows it.
“It’s a great feeling being able to see the guys around me succeeding,” Schultz said. “Guys picking me up, having my back. There’s games every now and then that we lose, but I think in the big picture, we’re still winning games.
“It’s great to be able to learn from the guys. The rest of the staff’s been throwing so well that during the games, you’ll see things that they [do]. Just pick their brains and pick up things that you don’t really realize right away.”
But this isn’t exactly a good time for a rookie pitcher to learn on the job.