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Electric White Sox pitching prospect was nearly perfect in the playoffs

Tanner McDougal's nearly perfect playoff performances prove that his ceiling is just as high as the elite Chicago White Sox pitching prospects.
BySam Phalen|
The Tennessee Smokies and Birmingham Barons stand for the National Anthem during the last regular season home game at the Tennessee Smokies Stadium on Sunday, September 15, 2024 in Kodak, Tenn.
The Tennessee Smokies and Birmingham Barons stand for the National Anthem during the last regular season home game at the Tennessee Smokies Stadium on Sunday, September 15, 2024 in Kodak, Tenn. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In comeback fashion, the Birmingham Barons became Southern League champions this week for a second consecutive season.

After trailing 1-0 in the best-of-three series, Birmingham rode two dominant pitching performances to victory. The first of which came on Tuesday night from Top 10 prospect Tanner McDougal.

McDougal, the No. 7 prospect in the Chicago White Sox organization, capped off a great 2025 season with two starts that made him nearly perfect in the postseason.

Against the Biscuits on Tuesday, he did a flawless four innings, retired all 12 batters he faced and struck out six (6).

On September 6 against Chattanooga, McDougal did three innings, gave up one hit, zero runs, did not walk anybody, and struck out five batters.

He has been on an innings limit as the season has winded down, but McDougal still finished the year with an unbelievable playoff statline. He pitched 7.0 innings, allowed one (1) hit, walked (0) nobody, and struck out 11. That's 22 batters faced, and 21 batters retired.

McDougal is right up there with the best White Sox prospects

Adding in his postseason stats, McDougal finished the 2025 season with a 3.07 ERA and 147 strikeouts in 120.1 innings pitched. That was by far the most he has ever thrown in his career after being selected in the 5th round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Silverado High School. 2025 was a breakout year for the talented pitcher who hadn't put it all together before this season.

When the 2026 season gets underway, McDougal will be approaching his 23rd birthday. He still has years to grow and get some mileage on his arm so that he can pitch deep into games for a full season. But if he opens the year in Double-A or Triple-A, 2026 could also be the season he makes his Major League debut.

His run in the playoffs showed me that, even with his recent jump in the rankings, Tanner McDougal is still one of the most underrated prospects in all of baseball. 11.0 K/9 is future ace numbers. McDougal has an electric fastball, and as his prospect profile on MLB.com says, "his upper-70s downer curveball can make hitters look silly."

White Sox fans need to start putting McDougal in the same conversation as Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith. His ceiling is proving to be just as high.

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