New update on pitching prospect Hagen Smith will get White Sox fans excited

It came as somewhat of a surprise when the Chicago White Sox used the 5th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft on Arkansas lefty Hagen Smith.

With multiple highly-touted bats on the board and a clear need for position player talent, the White Sox taking a pitcher was not a commonly predicted outcome.

Still, it’s easy to see why the Sox fell in love with Smith. He was nearly unhittable during his Junior season at Arkansas, and his profile and pitch mix is something the White Sox have had quite a bit of success developing in the past. 

White Sox took aggressive approach with Hagen Smith

The White Sox were aggressive with Smith, skipping the Low-A level and starting him with High-A Winston-Salem after the draft.

Despite only making three starts to finish 2024, his stuff looked effective, and the White Sox continued the aggressive assignments when they started him at Double-A Birmingham to begin 2025.

Smith made seven (7) starts at the Double-A level to begin the season, and although he posted an exciting 2.10 ERA, his walk rate jumped significantly from where he was at a season ago (20 walks in 25.2 innings).

Five of Smith's seven outings this season did not extend past the fourth inning. He has still only thrown 33.1 innings as a pro, but the White Sox were forced to shut him down after he experienced soreness in his elbow. Fortunately for Smith and the White Sox, further testing showed no serious damage to his elbow, and the soreness went away after some rest.

White Sox pull Smith from game action

Instead of returning him straight to Birmingham, the White Sox elected to take the precautionary route and senr Smith to Arizona to work on his mechanics.

Things have been fairly quiet regarding that process for the past several weeks, but White Sox pitching director Brian Bannister joined Chuck Garfien on his podcast this week and provided an insightful update.

White Sox listen to the data

"We've taken a lot of advantage of this time just to get him right," said Bannister of the work Smith has done on his mechanics in Arizona.

The White Sox have used Hawk-Eye technology and data to identify how Smith can be more effective on the mound while putting less stress on his arm.

"I'm optimistic to seeing him [back in game action] soon," Bannister told Garfien. "The fans, the media, have seen us strategically pull guys out of competition and use some of the new resources we have. There's no sense in having guys go out and pitch if it's not being productive or it's not advancing him towards his goal of being a really good big league player."

The focus for Smith has been getting back to his college mechanics. It’s clear from the numbers that his stuff plays at any level, but reigning in the walks and working on his command of the strike zone will be key for Smith to take the next step in his development and pull even closer to his big league debut.

New technology in Birmingham has helped the White Sox pitching staff identify and correct mechanical issues that may have contributed to his loss of control, and potentially even his elbow soreness. 

Smith is expected to pitch this weekend

Fans will get to see the results of Smith’s Arizona trip soon, as Smith is expected to make his return to game action on Saturday night.

While he will return to Birmingham for now, the White Sox have been aggressive with their promotions so far this season, and Brian Bannister himself said he believes in challenging his pitchers and giving them a taste of the next level.

If he’s able to put together a few solid starts, it may not be long before Hagen Smith joins Noah Schultz in the Charlotte rotation.

It also seems likely that the White Sox will be looking to fill Major League innings after the trade deadline, and a 2025 big league debut for Smith isn’t out of the realm of possibility. A return to game action this week is a great first step.