White Sox Prospect Season Recap: No. 28 Tanner McDougal

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 season 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 at 28 on the White Sox top 30 is starting pitcher Tanner McDougal. McDougal was drafted in the 5th round in the 2021 draft and would play for the White Sox in the Arizona Complex league that same year. Unfortunately, just after 9 innings, McDougal would get injured and need Tommy John surgery that would make him miss the entire 2022 season. This was a tough blow for McDougal, as he was just drafted out of a Nevada high school. After retuning from injury in 2023, McDougal would spend the year in Kannapolis, starting 21 games, en route to a 4.15 ERA. That was a great season, as that was his first action since Tommy John surgery.

Unfortunately, McDougal did not have a great 2024 season, as his ERA and other stats were inflated. Between Kannapolis and Winston-Salem, McDougal had a 0-11 record with a 6.04 ERA over 22 starts. In 98.1 innings, he struck out 116 batters, walking 58. He had a .251 batting average against and a 1.59 WHIP.

This isn't the type of season you want if you are McDougal, especially after he showed progress coming off of his Tommy John surgery in 2023. However, McDougal ended the season on a high note, as after the team moved him from Winston-Salem down to Kannapolis on July 30th, McDougal was significantly better.

At Kannapolis, McDougal had a 4.05 ERA with 36 strikeouts in just 26.2 innings. His WHIP was 1.39, but hitters only hit .230 off of him. That is a much better end to the season for McDougal, so hopefully he can carry this momentum into the 2024 season.

On top of that, McDougal had an absolutely dominant playoff start for the Cannon Ballers, where he shut out the other team in the championship series over 5 innings.

This was the perfect way to end the season for McDougal, as he now has some strong momentum going into 2025. I wonder where the White Sox will start him off, as he struggled at High-A last year. Perhaps they keep him at Kannapolis to let him get a string of good starts under his belt before promoting him back up to High-A.

2025 will be a big year for McDougal, as he needs to show the White Sox that he will be a part of their future.