Newly acquired prospect had his trade to the White Sox manifested by a fortune cookie

Newly acquired pitching prospect Gage Ziehl shared a hilarious photo on social media after being traded to the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.

Ziehl, a fourth-round pick by the New York Yankees in the 2024 MLB Draft, was dealt to Chicago ahead of the MLB trade deadline in exchange for veteran outfielder Austin Slater.

According to MLB Pipeline, Ziehl is now the No. 14 prospect in the White Sox farm system. He ranks higher than notable right-handed pitchers Peyton Pallette, Wikelman González, and Juan Carela.

It's certainly not a bad return for the White Sox considering they gave up a rental, platoon bat outfielder with only 123 at-bats this season.

I'm not sure many people predicted the Sox to get such an impactful prospect for Slater, but apparently, Ziehl's fortune cookie saw it coming the night before the trade.

Gage Ziehl's fortune cookie predicted a trade to the White Sox

Ziehl shared on his Instagram story a photo of his P.F. Changs fortune cookie that he took on Tuesday night. "A career change is in your near future," read the message.

"Didn't think twice about this last night," Ziehl wrote to caption the image. Less than 24 hours later, he was being traded for the first time in his professional baseball career and joining a White Sox organization that is looking to get back in contention quicker than people thought possible.

The White Sox are 8-4 since the All-Star break. They have scored 84 runs since the All-Star break, which is the most of any American League team. They also have the best run differential in baseball since the break at +34.

Slowly but surely, the White Sox are getting back to being a respectable franchise, and Gage Ziehl is one of the players that can help them do that.

Gage Ziehl could be in the big leagues by 2026

Combining Ziehl's final two years of college ball at Miami, he was 13-7 with a 4.08 ERA, 31 starts, 192 innings, and 189 strikeouts. He famously threw a complete game with 15 strikeouts against No. 2 Clemson back in 2024.

He's not a pitcher with overwhelming stuff, but he has 2-3 plus offerings and has excellent control of them all. Ziehl is relatively experienced for a first-year pro and has already pitched at three levels of the minor leagues in his first professional season.

I personally would not rule out the possibility that Gage Ziehl is in Double-A to start 2026, and could even make his MLB debut by the end of the next year. His big league trajectory lines up perfectly with the White Sox path to contention, and strike throwers with simple deliveries usually move quickly.

The fortune cookie manifested it, but a trade to the White Sox could be exactly what Gage Ziehl needed to reach his full potential.

It's probably a much faster path the Major Leagues than he had with the Yankees. Chicago can give him an opportunity to vie for a rotation spot with the other young arms in the organization.