Shane Smith capped off a tremendous rookie season with a start for the Chicago White Sox in Game 162 on Sunday afternoon that might have been his best so far.
The White Sox took on the Washington Nationals in the regular season finale, and ran away with an 8-0 victory, giving them a final record of 60-102 for the 2025 season.
Smith went six innings and allowed just one baserunner. He surrendered a single in the sixth after retiring the first 16 batters he faced. Smith also recorded eight strikeouts, which tied his season and career high.
Shane Smith sets a new White Sox record
With eight strikeouts, the 25-year-old Smith brought his season total up to 145, which sets a new franchise record for the Chicago White Sox.
That's the most strikeouts ever recorded by a White Sox pitcher in the first-year of their career. The previous record was held by Carls Rodón (139) back in 2015, but Smith's big year now has a place in White Sox history.
Technically, Gary Peters has the record for White Sox rookies with 189 strikeouts over 243 innings back in 1963. That, however was Peters' fifth year in MLB. He pitched in 1959, 1960, 1961, and 1962 with Chicago before earning a full-time job at 26 years old.
Shane Smith is a true rookie, and what he's done for the White Sox this season cannot be overstated.
Smith's breakout season changes the White Sox rebuild
The emergence of Shane Smith in 2025 changes everything for the White Sox organization .
Young pitching was already a strength of the organization. They came into the season with a few under 25, controllable starters in the big leagues and multiple top prospects that were former first-round picks on the way.
Then Chris Getz and the front office added a 25-year-old All-Star starting pitcher in the Rule 5 Draft. They now have him under club control through 2030.
Smith finishes the 2025 season with a 7-8 record, a 3.81 ERA, and 145 strikeouts in 146.1 innings pitched. He led the White Sox in starts, innings, strikeouts, ERA (among full-time starters), and wins (tied with Davis Martin) this season. Those a tremendous numbers to build on for 2026 and beyond.