White Sox pitching prospect thriving in 2025 leaning on big brother's MLB experience

Left-handed pitching prospect Shane Murphy is quickly becoming one of the most exciting arms in the Chicago White Sox farm system.

While Murphy is not currently ranked in Chicago's Top 30 prospects by MLB.com, he has pitched lights out for the Birmingham Barons ever since getting promoted to Double-A earlier in the season.

Murphy has a 1.62 ERA in 10 outings with Birmingham. He has a .081 WHIP and is keeping opposing hitters to a harmless .198 batting average.

At 24 years old, Murphy commands his pitch arsenal exceptionally well and attacks the corners of the strike zone. He has a legitimate shot to make his MLB debut and get some big league innings for the White Sox this season.

That impending big league opportunity, however, is not distracting Murphy from his best self in Double-A. It's all part of the focus that players need to have to succeed in the minor leagues. Murphy knows what it takes, because he's seen it done by his older brother.

Murphy is learing from his brother

In a recent interview with the "To The Show Baseball Podcast," Murphy talked about how much he has learned from watching his brother go through the hills and valleys of minor leagues baseball.

"I've been very fortunate. My older brother has been in the game for 11+ years. He was signed out of high school and I think this year was his 12th spring training," Murphy said.

Shane's brother, Patrick, was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2013 MLB Amateur Draft. He has spent time in the Major Leagues with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Washington Nationals. From 2020-2022, Patrick Murphy appeared in 35 MLB games with an ERA of 4.76.

He is currently in AAA with the Texas Rangers chasing an opportunity to get back on a big league mound.

"Just learning from experience being the young brother from him. Understanding how the game works, the process he went through, the grind it takes to get to where we all want to be. People who play GM. I think that's the number one thing, in my personal opinion, what you can't do," said Shane Murphy.

"I think it's just a negative outlook. You really just gotta focus on what you can do, what you're doing, and how you can add value to a team."

Murphy credited his older brother, as well as other MLB players like Cole Tucker and Cody Bellinger for the impact they had on him at a young age. Bellinger was a high school teammate of Patrick Murphy. Cole Tucker also grew up in Arizona and was one year behind in school.

"I was the little brother. I got to tag along to everything. I learned a lot while I was in high school about what pro ball is like," said Shane. "Going into pro ball with the right mindset, and understanding what it takes and the mindset behind it. ever since I've been in pro ball I've known that I need to focus on myself and be where my feet are."

Keeping his head down and working is exactly how Murphy is going to take the next step in his baseball league career and get the call that every prospect is waiting for.

The White Sox have already proven with both Grant Taylor and Jake Palisch that they are not afraid to call pitchers in Double-A up to the Major Leagues. Murphy is on track to be the 2025 version of Ky Bush or Sean Burke. He could get a Major League call up after the trade deadline and finish out the year with a couple of starts in the big league rotation.

This guy comes from a baseball family. If you weren't already buying stock on Shane Murphy, now is the time to do so.