The Chicago White Sox have a nice group of young pitching prospects in their system which has top prospects Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith leading they, but could have a dark horse prospect to watch for this season?
White Sox fans can expect to see a ton of young prospects this season as the organization tries to figure out who will be a part of the future success of the team. The Chicago White Sox are deep in their pitching depth with lefty top prospects Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith leading the way. Lower on their list of their top thirty prospects could prove to be a valuable young stalwart to watch who could be in the starting rotation this.
Tyler Schweitzer (No. 23 overall prospect)
The 24-year-old Tyler Schweitzer was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the fifth round of the 2022 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Ball State University. Described as being a “polished” starting pitcher coming out of college according to MLB.com with describing Tyler Schweitzer as:
“Known more for his polish than his stuff when he entered pro ball, Schweitzer has gotten stronger and so has his fastball. After sitting around 90 mph in college, his heater now operates at 91-93 and touches 95-96 more often, and its effectiveness is enhanced by high spin rates and induced vertical break. He supplements his sneaky fastball with a trio of average secondary pitches, the best of which is a low-80s slider that grades as plus at times with two-plane depth.”
Being a lefty his fastball will have natural run to it, as well as having a curveball and changeup to his arsenal, Tyler Schweitzer could prove to be a really solid middle of the rotation starter, with the possibility of having upside as a number two starter if he can develop his secondary pitches.
What is the future of Tyler Schweitzer with the Chicago White Sox?
In 2024 Tyler Schweitzer split his time between High-A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham where he made a total of 25 starts going 7-9 with a respectable 4.02 ERA. Adding in a 1.242 WHIP, with 136 strikeouts, which gave Schweitzer a 9.3 strikeout per nine rate, in 132.0 innings of work, Schweitzer had a very solid season overall. Schweitzer is currently not on the Chicago White Sox 40-man roster for this season and will figure to start the year again down at Double-A Birmingham according to FanGraphs. Schweitzer could make the jump to the major leagues given the White Sox could use a left-hander in their rotation, or if an injury occurs.
The White Sox did recently trade for left-hander Tyler Gilbert who they received from the Philadelphia Philles for 23-year-old reliever Aaron Combs, and Gilbert figures to be one left-handed option the White Sox turn to fill the need for a lefty. If Gilbert doesn’t end up working, the White Sox showing they would like to take their time and not rush Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith to the big leagues, could turn to Tyler Schweitzer as an internal option to fill the void.
Projecting Tyler Schweitzer
Tyler Schweitzer could really be a dark horse player to watch for this season with his fastball sitting around 90-93mph with occasionally touching 96mph, if he can develop his slider which figures to be his best secondary pitch and get his curveball and changeup up to par to give hitters another look, Schweitzer can be a future middle rotation starting pitcher for the White Sox.
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