Rookie starting pitcher Shane Smith has had a pretty historic debut season with the Chicago White Sox.
After being selected by the White Sox with the first pick in the Rule 5 Draft and earning his way into the starting rotation for Opening Day, Smith has been doing something baseball has never seen before.
He became the first White Sox rookie pitcher in history to be selected for the MLB All-Star Game. He was just the second Rule 5 pick to ever earn an All-Star nod as a rookie, joining Dan Uggla (2006). That also means that Smith was the first pitcher to accomplish the feat.
While he got knocked around a bit in June and July, Smith has looked like his old, All-Star self since returning from the Injured List.
On Monday night, he completed seven scoreless innings against the Kansas City Royals. He allowed just one hit and only threw 80 pitches in the ballgame.
Shane Smith tonight 🔥🔥🔥
— CHGO White Sox (@CHGO_WhiteSox) August 26, 2025
7 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K on 80 pitches
0 EARNED
22 of 24 batters faced a first pitch strike
pic.twitter.com/K60JrR3imK
As we enter the final month of the 2025 MLB season, Smith is on track to make the rest of his starts without being shut down, and he's closing in on another White Sox franchise record.
Shane Smith is close to another White Sox record
With 105 strikeouts on the season, Shane Smith is 34 strikeouts away from Carlos Rodón's total (139) from 2015.
139 strikeouts is the most ever by a White Sox pitcher in their first Major League season. John Danks has the second most in recent memory with 109 in 2007, but Smith could very well pass Danks during his next start.
Outside of Rodón, Danks, and Jason Bere in 1993, the other rookie pitchers ahead of Smith on the leaderboard all played before 1930.
It really is rare to see a season like the one Shane Smith is having in 2025, especially for the White Sox. A guy who seemingly came out of nowhere is looking like a quality MLB starter with the potential to be a future ace.
Smith is 4-7 with a 3.87 ERA on the year. His 1.5 fWAR leads the current active roster.
The White Sox have 31 games remaining this season. That means Smith will probably take the mound six more times. If he can get 5-6 strikeouts in each outing, he's got a shot to be the all-time White Sox rookie leader for Ks in a single season. That's saying a lot given the organization's rich history of developing pitchers.