The 2026 White Sox season isn’t yet halfway over, and it’s already featured several exciting big league debuts. It began with Noah Schultz, who made his major league debut on April 14th against the Rays. The very next day, Sam Antonacci got his chance at the big league level, and he’s certainly taken advantage of it. With Schultz now on the IL, the White Sox turned to 18th-ranked prospect David Sandlin to fill his rotation spot. With those debuts already in the books, left-handed starter Hagen Smith could be next in line to get the call, and it’s only a matter of time before he’s on the south side.
Now fully healthy after an injury-riddled 2025 season, Smith has shown the bat-missing ability that convinced the White Sox to select him with the fifth overall pick in 2024. The 22-year-old has just one thing left to prove: that he can consistently throw strikes.
Hagen Smith's control issues date back to the start of last season
Erratic control has been a big problem for Smith since the start of 2025. Known as a workhorse at Arkansas, Smith walked 56 hitters in 75.2 innings last season and dealt with a drop in velocity midseason. His stuff and control picked back up toward the end of the year and he shined in the Arizona Fall League, leading the White Sox to promote Smith to the Triple-A level to begin 2026. A slow build-up to start the year saw Smith working just three to four innings per start, and his control issues resurfaced early this season. Smith has walked at least three hitters in five of his twelve outings this season. It hasn’t been whole outings without his command, but rather losing it for an inning before finding it again the next innings.
Despite the inconsistent control this season, Smith’s last two outings in Charlotte have been solid. He allowed three earned runs over 9.1 innings, walking three and striking out 16. Smith mentioned a mechanical tweak being responsible for his recent success
Hagen Smith said today that last night’s impressive results were the result of raising his arm slot back to where it had been previously.
— jeff cohen (@TripleAJeff) May 29, 2026
The change in his arm slot was the result of work he did this week with White Sox Director of Pitching Brian Bannister, who has been in… pic.twitter.com/A2r45OcvEn
When he throws strikes, Smith has been very effective at getting outs. Opponents are hitting just .185 against him in a known hitter-friendly environment in Charlotte, and he's struck out 63 hitters in 43 innings pitched. There’s no question the stuff plays, and it seems to just be a matter of showing he can throw strikes consistently before the White Sox take the next step. Hopefully, his recent success is the start of a turnaround and not just a fluke.
White Sox fans will want to watch Smith’s starts closely over the next few weeks. If he continues dominating hitters at the rate he has and gets the ball over the plate more consistently, it’s not going to be long before he brings his first-round pedigree to Chicago.
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