Young pitching seemed to be a strength of the Chicago White Sox organization coming into the 2025 season.
While the White Sox didn’t have many proven arms, the promising depth among young starting pitchers was one thing White Sox fans could look forward to. That depth, however, took a hit before the season even started.
Ky Bush, Drew Thorpe, and Mason Adams were all MLB-ready talents that were lost for the season due to Tommy John surgery. As devastating as it was at the time, perhaps those injuries were for the best. Injuries to starting pitchers gave the White Sox some no-brainer decisions when it came to filling out their 26-man roster and starting rotation.
Davis Martin, Shane Smith, Jonathon Cannon, and Sean Burke all got opportunities to prove themselves in the Major Leagues. While someone like Cannon may have looked overmatched as the season went on, Martin, Smith, and Burke all thrived.
Now in the final weekend of the 2025 regular season, White Sox starting pitchers will take the mound for the final team this season. Of all the team awards I am giving out in my end of season series, singling out one pitcher as Chicago’s Cy Young for the year was the most difficult.
At the end of the day, I gave the slight edge to rookie Shane Smith over Davis Martin and long reliever Mike Vasil.
White Sox Cy Young - Shane Smith
Runner-ups: Davis Martin, Mike Vasil
Shane Smith's evolution from Rule 5 Draft Pick to MLB All-Star might have been the best thing to happen to the White Sox all year.
He's still new to the organization, but he now looks like a legitimate No. 2 starter with room to grow and years of contract control remaining.
Smith did not allow more than three runs to cross the plate in any of his first 13 MLB starts. Halfway through June, he had a 2.37 ERA and was one of the best pitchers in the American League in both ERA and batting average against.
A rough stretch throughout June and July skyrocketed Smith's ERA from 2.37 to 4.26 by the trade deadline. His arm was tiring with a workload that he's never seen before and hitters were making the proper adjustments for facing him.
The White Sox put Shane Smith on the Injured List in July, and ever since his return to the hill on August 1, he has pitched more like the All-Star he was in the first half of the season. While he did have one blowup outing against the Baltimore Orioles, Smith has a 3.52 ERA and 9.5 K/9 since returning from injury.
On the year, Smith is 6-8 with a 3.98 ERA and 137 strikeouts over 140.1 innings. If he gets the ball for the White Sox in the season finale on Sunday, three strikeouts can set a new franchise record for strikeouts by a first-year starting pitcher. 139 by Carlos Rodón is the current mark to beat.
Davis Martin has been reliable all season, but Smith has been a bit more dominant in a similar sample size. Smith's ability to overpower hitters and strikeout 7-8 batters in a game gives him more of that Cy Young feel than Martin, who strictly pitches to contact.
Mike Vasil surpassed the 100 innings threshold in New York this week, and while I'd love to give him some consideration strictly off his numbers, it's hard for me to pick a low-leverage long reliever as the team's Cy Young. I already named Vasil the Reliever of the Year.
Smith leads White Sox pitchers in fWAR. He also leads current starting pitchers in ERA and could be the team leader in both innings and strikeouts by Sunday. He's the clear choice for White Sox Cy Young.