After an awful opening week, the White Sox’ starting rotation has been a bright spot with an MLB-best 1.73 ERA in 11 games from April 3-14.
If you were told in spring training that Sox starters would go on a heater like that, you probably would’ve expected Opening Day hurler Shane Smith to be on top of his game — not down on the farm trying to rediscover his All-Star form from last season.
For Smith to run it back to the big leagues, he’s got to stop running away from the pitch that made him a Rule 5 success story, general manager Chris Getz said a week after the surprising demotion.
“He was running away from using his four-seam fastball. Just the overall quality of that pitch, along with his curveball, just wasn’t up to his standard,” Getz said of the righty, who covered only 8⅓ innings in his three Sox starts, surrendering 12 runs before getting shipped to Triple-A Charlotte. “We felt like it was best to kind of slow down his world a little bit, get him in an environment that is not so focused on getting so deep into games, or even win the ballgame.”
Smith looked a little better in his last big-league game, but had another uneven outing in his first go with the Knights over the weekend, giving up three runs on four hits with a walk and five strikeouts in four innings.
“There’s always a cascade effect when you have starters not going deep into games. It starts affecting bullpens,” Getz said. “He definitely made progress in the most recent outing up here at the major league level, but we know that he can be so much better, and he acknowledges that as well.”
Schultz in the rotation
Manager Will Venable confirmed that rookie lefty Noah Schultz has a regular spot in the Sox’ starting rotation after his shaky MLB debut Tuesday night — no surprise, but an assertion that Getz stopped short of making a day earlier.
Schultz consistently flashed 98 on the radar gun and struck out four while laboring through 4⅓ innings, giving up four runs but rebounding from some first-inning jitters.
“The sky is the limit for him, man,” said catcher Edgar Quero. “Not many guys like him right now in the big leagues.”
Soft-spoken in the clubhouse but intense on the mound, the 6-10 Schultz credited big sisters Emily Schultz and Ashley Schultz with sharpening his on-field edge in their childhood Wiffle ball games in the backyard while growing up in Aurora.
“They helped get that competitive spirit in me. It started at a young age,” Schultz said. “I can’t thank them enough. They have been with me through it all. It’s so awesome to have their support and have them in the stands.”
Coming and going
As part of the Sox’ latest roster shuffle bringing up prospect Sam Antonacci, they also recalled veteran lefty reliever Tyler Gilbert, optioned Brandon Eisert to Charlotte and designated outfielder Dustin Harris for assignment.
Harris was a hero of Sunday’s win at Kansas City, robbing a potential home run in right field. He went 3-for-12 with a double, four walks and a pair of stolen bases in six games with the Sox.
Venable said they’ll send him to Charlotte if he clears waivers.
“It was a really tough decision. … He was really just kind of the odd guy out, really not because of anything he did,” Venable said.