The Chicago White Sox made a number of interesting moves prior to the Nov. 18 rostering deadline, including the prospects they ultimately decided not to protect from Rule 5 Draft eligibility.
However, one of the players they did shelter from that process was Duncan Davitt, who is now officially on the team's 40-man roster. Acquired at the trade deadline in the Adrian Houser deal, the 26-year-old right-hander may now have the inside track on the White Sox's No. 5 starter job.
Duncan Davitt can bring a workhorse mentality to the White Sox rotation
Barring a free-agent or trade addition this offseason, the top two of the Pale Hose's rotation is set in stone for next season. All-Star rookie Shane Smith is a lock to take the bump on Opening Day, with fellow breakout pitcher Davis Martin to follow him
As things stand right now, Jonathan Cannon and Sean Burke looks to be options for Will Venable's third and fourth starters after tossing 100+ innings for the 2025 team, though overall performance does leave a lot of room for improvement.
After that, it's a hodgepodge of questions marks in Chicago. Both Ky Bush and Drew Thorpe will return from Tommy John surgery at some point in 2026, but certainly not before Opening Day. The only other starter on the 40-man roster is Tanner McDougal, the other prospect the White Sox protected from the Rule 5 Draft.
That leaves Davitt, whose performance between the Rays and Sox last year was better than it appears on the surface.
For one thing, the 6'3", 235-pound righty has the frame and track record to suggest he can handle a big-league workload. He threw a whopping 152 innings in the minors this year (nearly 5 2/3 innings per start) and completed 136 2/3 frames the season prior.
He also made some key improvements after coming into the White Sox's system, including newfound success in limiting the longball; he surrendered just 0.74 home runs per nine innings in Triple-A Charlotte after allowing 2.25 HR/9 with the Rays' Triple-A affiliate.
6 quality frames tonight from Duncan Davitt, including these 8 strikeouts
— Durham Bulls (@DurhamBulls) July 30, 2025
Final line: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/94bRgOLM2P
Most of Davitt's skills grade out as average (i.e., between 40-50) on the 80-point scouting scale, though his one blue-chip trait is his command, which most outlets (including FanGraphs) have placed in the 60-70 range.
Funny enough, that's where he can make the most amount of gains in 2026. He may never be a strikeout artist (he had a 23.8% strikeout rate in 2025), but he's always had reliable command, posting walk rates of 7.6% (2024) and 5.2% (2025) with the Rays. That ballooned to 11.5% with the Knights, perhaps a sign of fatigue after transitioning teams mid-season.
He isn't the flashiest pitcher, and he's sure to be outclassed by some of the incumbents already in the rotation. But, as far as dependability goes, Davitt could give the White Sox another stable option to build around in 2026.