GLENDALE, Ariz. — The White Sox reassigned two of their top prospects to minor-league camp, one a west suburban native, the team announced Thursday morning prior to its spring training game against the San Francisco Giants.
Left-handed pitchers Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith, both first-round draft picks and considered to be major cornerstones of the team’s rebuilding project, were reassigned as part of five roster moves the White Sox announced Thursday.
Schultz, who was born in Naperville, was taken by the White Sox at No. 26 overall in the 2022 June Amateur Draft, right out of Oswego East High School. He’s currently ranked as the top prospect in the White Sox system by MLB.com.
MLB.com also ranks Schultz as the No. 16 prospect in baseball, regardless of position, as well as the top left-handed pitcher and the No. 5 pitcher overall.
Schultz, who turns 22 in August, split last season between High-A Winston-Salem of the South Atlantic League and Double-A Birmingham of the Southern League. In 16 games at Double-A, all starts, Schultz struck out 73 in just 61 innings, recording a 1.48 ERA and a 1.016 WHIP. He allowed just 10 earned runs in Double-A.
Smith, meanwhile, turns 22 just two weeks after Schultz, but he’s only entering his first full professional season because he pitched in college at the University of Arkansas following high school in Bullard, Texas.
Smith is ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the White Sox system by MLB.com, behind only Schultz and catcher Kyle Teel, who the team acquired in the offseason trade that sent Garrett Crochet to the Boston Red Sox.
Smith is also ranked as the No. 34 prospect in baseball overall by MLB.com, as well as the No. 2 left-handed pitcher behind Schultz.
The White Sox selected Smith at No. 5 overall in last June’s Amateur Draft. He pitched three times late last season at High-A Winston-Salem, striking out seven and allowing three earned runs over a total of 7 2/3 innings.
Additionally, the White Sox announced Thursday they optioned left-handed pitcher Jake Eder and right-handed pitcher Jairo Iriarte to Triple-A Charlotte and optioned right-handed pitcher Wikelman González to Double-A Birmingham.
Iriarte is the team’s No. 9-ranked prospect by MLB.com, while González is No. 18.
With the five roster moves, the White Sox now have 66 players remaining in their major-league spring training camp as of Thursday: 31 pitchers, six catchers, 18 infielders and 11 outfielders.
The White Sox open their 2025 regular season on Thursday, April 27, at home against the Los Angeles Angels.