White Sox Prospect Season Recap: No. 1, Noah Schultz

The 2024 season for the Chicago White Sox was one of the worst in modern day baseball history. They were 41-121 and the worst team in the league by far. The bright spots were few and far between, as the team was very hard to watch for many White Sox fans. 

However, down on the farm, the White Sox have some very intriguing players that can give fans a glimmer of hope for the future. We will be recapping the seasons of some of the best prospects in the White Sox system, starting from #30 and going in order to #1 as MLB Pipeline has them ranked. As you’ll see, there are some very intriguing prospects that can help bring the White Sox back to relevance.

Ranked as the best White Sox prospect is Noah Schultz who sits at number 16 overall on the MLB Pipeline list. He is the highest ranked left handed starting pitcher and the third highest pitcher overall. Noah Schultz has a lot of hype, and it's for good reason. Even after the Garrett Crochet trade that saw the White Sox acquire two new top-100 prospects, Schultz is still the number one player on the Sox prospect list.

Last year, Schultz made his way to AA Birmingham after 27.1 very solid innings at Winston Salem. Once he got to Birmingham, he threw 61 innings there. In those innings, he had a 1.48 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He struck out 73 batters while walking just 17. Hitters didn't fare too well against him, as they only hit .202 off him.

LHP Noah Schultz (CHW) over his last 7 appearances:

26.0 IP
0.35 ERA
29 K (27.4%)
12 BB (11.0%)
.124 average against
.399 OPS against

He's allowed just one earned run over this stretch. That arm angle from a 6-foot-9 frame makes the twos-seam and SL completely ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/GYwBsc15yf

— Beck (@Upper_Beck) September 1, 2024

Schultz has all of the talent in the world, and I am excited to see him make it to Chicago sooner rather than later. As of last year, the White Sox capped him at 4 innings per start, so I would like to see him go deeper into games. I have no doubt he can still pitch at a high level past the 4th inning, but if he is going to be a top of the rotation guy in Chicago, he needs to build some stamina up.

The White Sox could give Schultz the Chris Sale or Carlos Rodon treatment, which would have him start off in the bullpen for his debut season and make his way to the rotation the following year. I wouldn't be opposed to that, as it gives Schultz extra time to build up that stamina while still getting some valuable major league innings.

If Schultz gets off to a hot start in AA this season, don't be surprised if you see an early promotion to AAA or even the major leagues. Getz has shown to be more aggressive in promoting prospects than Rick Hahn was, so if they have earned it, they are likely to be promoted.