White Sox are calling up a 26-year-old undrafted player to the Major Leagues

The Chicago White Sox are looking for some pitching help, and they are now turning to a 26-year-old undrafted free agent to find it.

According to reports, the White Sox are calling up left-handed pitcher Jake Palisch to make his Major League debut. Palisch, 26, is a 6-foot-4 southpaw currently with the Birmingham Barons. He has never pitched about the Double-A level in his professional career.

Palisch in 2025

Palisch has been nothing short of dominant this season. He has thrown 53 innings over 15 appearances and seven starts in 2025 with an ERA of 1.19.

He began the season in a relief role, but Palisch has thrown at least five innings in each of his last seven outings while maintaining his impressive numbers.

Palisch has a 1.15 ERA as a starting pitcher this year and was named Chicago White Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Month for May. He was also named Southern League Pitcher of the Month for May, when he allowed just two earned runs across 24 innings.

With 35 strikeouts in 53 innings this season, Palisch is not going to overwhelm hitters and miss bats, but he has exceptional control every time he takes the mound. He rarely walks hitters and generates a lot of soft contact that has contributed to his 0.925 WHIP.

In 2023, Palisch had a 5.31 ERA as a 24-year-old in Winston-Salem. I'm not sure anybody thought we'd be here just two years later based on how the former undrafted free agent fared in High-A. It has been an unconventional journey to say the least for the newest member of the White Sox pitching staff.

Who is Jake Palisch?

Palisch grew up in Richardson, Texas and played his college ball at Stanford University. He had an impact the minute he stepped on campus.

As a true freshman at Stanford, Palisch threw 47 innings with a 1.72 ERA. He also made two scoreless appearances during the NCAA Regionals and was named a Perfect Game Freshman All-American, NCBWA Freshman All-American, and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Freshman All-American.

Palisch had a little bit less success during his sophomore campaign, stepping into the occasional starting role. His junior season was cancelled by COVID-19, and his senior season was nothing to write home about, although his team did make the College World Series in Omaha.

After graduating from Stanford, Palisch played one final year of college baseball and transferred to Texas A&M. He appeared 29 times out of the bullpen for the Aggies and posted a 2.39 ERA in a career-high 60.1 innings.

Palisch went undrafted in the 2022 MLB Draft, but signed a free agent minor league contract with the White Sox in July of 2022 following the draft.

Now, he's a Major League baseball player despite his college bios syaing that he "aspires to be a software developer." Palisch can save the software development for the future, for now he needs to provide the White Sox with another quality left-handed arm.

It's still unclear if Palisch will be used out of the bullpen or in a starting role with the White Sox, but this is a well-deserved opportunity. Hopefully, he can be another long-term piece that seemingly comes out of nowhere to have a strong big league career.