Chicago White Sox general manager Chris Getz made his first trade after being promoted on November 17, 2023. The deal sent left-handed relief pitcher Aaron Bummer to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for a collection of five players.
The return package to the White Sox was headlined by former All-Star starting pitcher Michael Soroka. It also included infielder Nicky Lopez, infielder Braden Shewmake, left-handed starting pitcher Jared Shuster, and right-handed minor league arm Riley Gowens.
Gowens, 24 at the time of the trade, was the only player in the deal without big league experience. He was a starting pitcher at the University of Illinois from 2021-2023 and native of Libertyville, IL.
Gowens was drafted in the ninth round of the 2023 MLB Draft by the Braves, and now he finds himself approaching an MLB debut with his hometown Chicago White Sox.
Riley Gowens at Illinois
If you take one look at Gowens' numbers from his college career at Illinois, you might be confused how he ended up getting drafted by Atlanta.
A 5.69 ERA over 37 college starts is rough. As is a 6.30 ERA in 2023 before he was drafted. But even with rocky numbers, Gowens was deemed "a data darling" by MLB Network's Jim Callis ahead of the 2023 MLB Draft.
Metrics loved Gowens' four-seam fastball, which sits in the low-90s with a ton of movement. Combining that with a 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame gave the Braves a lot to work with.
Gowens has produced at every level of the minor leagues
Gowens pitched 15.2 innings in the minor leagues after signing with the Braves for an under-slot $47,500.
Between the Florida Complex League and the Low-A Augusta GreenJackets, Gowens had a 1.15 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in those 15.2 innings. It was a promising start to his professional career.
The White Sox assigned Gowens to High-A Winston Salem to open the 2024 season after acquiring him in the offseason trade. In 13 starts for the Dash, Gowens was 5-3 with a 4.35 ERA and struck out 85 batters in 70.1 innings. That earned him a promotion to Double-A Birmingham in July.
Gowens finished out 2024 with a 3.14 ERA in 12 starts for the Barons. He pitched an impressive 122 innings in his first full professional season with a 3.84 ERA and 10.7 K/9 to show for it.
In 2025, it’s been more of the same for Riley Gowens. He hasn’t been particularly dominant, but he has spent the entire season in Double-A and produced quality starts.
With six scoreless innings earlier this week, Gowens is now 6-4 with a 4.17 ERA and 10.2 K/9 in 2025. He is 25 years old.
Gowens makes sense for the White Sox in September
Unlike most pitchers in the White Sox farm system, Gowens has a lot of professional innings under his belt, and I don’t think he’ll be hitting a “wall” anytime soon.
Once the trade deadline passes and the calendar gets closer to December, the White Sox will undoubtedly be looking for some MLB innings to protect their young starters. I think Gowens could be a perfect candidate to fill that role and make his big league debut.
With how consistently productive he has been in the minor leagues, I’m not sure how much more the White Sox need to see from the 25-year-old right-hander in Double-A.
We know that the organization is not opposed to promoting pitchers directly from Birmingham (Grant Taylor did it earlier this year), and both Gowens and Shane Murphy make a lot of sense to be the next guys up.
It would be a similar situation to what the White Sox did with Sean Burke and Ky Bush in 2024. You give them MLB innings in September, and if they succeed, they have a chance to compete for a rotation spot at next year’s Spring Training.
The former Illinois Fighting Illini and Chicagoland native could be suiting up for the White Sox before we know it.