The debut of top pitching prospect Noah Schultz was one of the more anticipated debuts for the White Sox in 2026. The former first-round pick largely dominated the minor leagues and established himself as one of the best left-handed pitching prospects in all of baseball. After an injury-riddled 2025 season, Schultz made a healthy and productive three starts in Charlotte before getting the big league call in April. It’s been an up-and-down road through his first eight big league starts, and Schultz is now heading to the injured list, but White Sox fans have no reason to be too worried about his long term outlook.
On the surface, Schultz going to the IL with tendinitis in his plant leg sounds scary. The plant leg is extremely important to a pitcher being able to locate effectively. It’s especially worrisome for Schultz, who dealt with the same issue in the same leg last season, missed six weeks, and lost a lot of his control and effectiveness when he was on the field. Thankfully, Schultz downplayed the idea of it being a serious issue.
#WhiteSox Noah Schultz called his knee tendinitis “mild” and will throw a bullpen later in the week. Described it as more “annoying” than anything else. pic.twitter.com/6dF8m9IelD
— Josh Frydman (@Josh_Frydman) May 26, 2026
Noah Schultz's IL stint could be the reset he needs to get back on track
Schultz posted an impressive 2.53 ERA over his first four big league starts, but his last four have been a struggle. Even when he was effective, he struggled with his control, with 22 walks in 38.2 innings on the season so far. Being a bit wild is completely normal for rookie pitchers, and it's certainly possible that a bit of discomfort in his knee impacted his control. Based on Schultz’s comments, it doesn’t seem like he’ll miss too much time, and a couple weeks to rest could be exactly what he needs. Schultz’s career-high is 88.1 innings in 2024, so the White Sox would’ve likely run into that obstacle later in the season anyway. Shutting it down for a couple weeks now could help him be prepared to produce innings later in the season.
In my opinion, there’s not really a reason to be concerned about a 22 year-old rookie who’s still learning how to pitch at the big league level. It’s been obvious that Schultz’s stuff will play in the major leagues. His fastball is effective when located well and his sweeper can be filthy. It’s simply a matter of refining his command and establishing a third pitch, but I believe he’s well on his way to being one of the premiere lefties in all of baseball.
In the meantime, right-hander David Sandlin will get the opportunity to take Schultz’s spot in the rotation. Acquired from Boston this offseason, Sandlin had flashed impressive stuff this spring after some soreness delayed his start, and he’ll look to prove why the White Sox took on Jordan Hicks’ deal to get him.
Sandlin and Schultz should be the beginning, not the end, of the influx of young pitchers coming to the White Sox over the next couple years. It should be just the start of an exciting stretch of baseball on the south side.
Add us as a preferred source on Google