The Chicago White Sox are not off to a great start this spring and most likely will not be great this season.
The one bright spot for the Southsiders will be the young group of prospects coming down the pipeline who can hopefully turn things around.
In their system, the White Sox have a good group of young position players and pitchers close to major-league-ready. One of those young arms is Hagen Smith, who the White Sox are very high on, and was dominant in his debut this spring.
Smith was electric in his debut for the Chicago White Sox
Smith was electric in his first appearance of the spring. In his one inning of work, Smith allowed one hit and collected three strikeouts. For one of those strikeouts, Smith flashed his nasty slider, which was featured on PitchingNinja.
“3 strikeouts for Hagen Smith in his Spring Training debut!”
3 strikeouts for Hagen Smith in his Spring Training debut! pic.twitter.com/Y06sca5bJd
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) February 26, 2025
“Hagen Smith’s Filthy Sliders.”
Hagen Smith's Filthy Sliders. 😷 pic.twitter.com/dPLlKADJU3
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) February 26, 2025
A future top-of-the-rotation piece
Smith, a 22-year-old from Tyler, Texas, was drafted by the White Sox in the first round (fifth overall) in the 2024 June Amateur Draft. Smith is ranked as the White Sox’s third overall prospect and is the 34th overall prospect in Major League Baseball.
Smith could be a top-of-the-rotation arm, having two plus pitches in his arsenal. Smith’s fastball and slider both grade out at an impressive 65/80. Smith does have a third pitch, a splitter, which is graded as average (50/80) and could be an outpitch for him in the future. The University of Arkansas product attacks hitters by throwing from a 3/4 arm angle and can hide the ball well.
Smith should continue to dominate
All these qualities will help Smith develop into a top-of-the-rotation arm with a ceiling of being an Ace.
Smith has an outside chance to break camp with the White Sox this spring but will likely start the year in Double-A or Triple-A.
For now, it’s great to see Smith flash his talents and give fans a glimpse of what will be coming to Chicago soon.
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