Despite racking up three strikeouts in his first appearance in a White Sox uniform, Hagen Smith wasn’t satisfied with his Cactus League debut.
The White Sox 2024 first round pick was given the ball in the sixth inning of Wednesday’s afternoon contest against the Padres. With his father and grandparents in attendance, Smith proceeded to fire a scoreless inning despite some traffic on the basepaths.
Padres outfielder Forrest Wall greeted Smith with a lead-off single before advancing to second after a throwing error by left fielder Wilfred Vargas. Wall then stole third base, immediately putting stress on the left-hander.
“For me just letting that runner go to third,” Smith told reporters when asked about why he was unhappy with his outing. “Mentally I felt like he was going to go I just didn’t get my looks in so that’s on me.”
Hagen Smith struck out the side in his first Cactus League game but didn’t love his outing. pic.twitter.com/mMTMKthqCW
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) February 26, 2025
However, Smith responded striking out Leodalis De Vries on four pitches, capped off by a filthy 86 mph backfoot slider. After logging his first out, Smith’s command briefly escaped him, walking former White Sox Gavin Sheets in five pitches. But with runners on the corners Smith showed why he is considered the 34th ranked prospect in baseball.
Smith punched out Ethan Salas and Connor Joe with a pair of sliders, ending his day with a scoreless inning and three strikeouts. As Smith walked off the mound, he yelled into his glove in frustration.
“Numbers-wise it went well, but I didn’t think I threw that amazing. I mean I kind of worked out of some jams but not a clean one like I wanted,” Smith told reporters. “Catcher was calling a really good game. Went out there and just executed. Kinda got punched in the face after that hit so I had to battle through some stuff which I like though.”
While Smith may not have been satisfied, his outing has been one of the few bright spots in Cactus League action. In the eighth inning, Smith walked out of Camelback Ranch’s stadium with baseball No. 16 ranked prospect Noah Shultz. Schultz needed just eight pitches to get through a scoreless fifth inning. The two southpaws gave a glimpse into what the future of the White Sox rotation could look like.
