GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The White Sox have an Opening Day starter in Sean Burke, but they don’t necessarily have an ace at the top of the rotation.
Chicago has had plenty who capably filled that role in the recent past -- ranging from Mark Buehrle to Chris Sale to Lucas Giolito to Dylan Cease and to the powerful emergence of Garrett Crochet last season -- but the selling point of these current White Sox hurlers just might be the balance across this group.
“We are seeing new exciting pitchers emerge,” said White Sox director of pitching Brian Bannister prior to Thursday’s Cactus League game against the Angels at Camelback Ranch. “I wouldn’t call any guy an ace so far. It’s actually the strength of the group. They are all working together, they all have talent and upside. They are collaborating.
“Our pitching department as a whole is very exciting with the flow of information, the upgrades we’ve made to analytics, [chairman] Jerry [Reinsdorf] and [general manager] Chris [Getz] moving our lab down here with much better information, much faster turnaround times. In the past, it was a lengthy turnaround time to get good information back. Now you can get it back the same day or the next day. We’ve been able to make very fast adjustments with this group.”
Although there has been no announcement of the White Sox starting alignment behind Burke, it will be made up of some combination from Davis Martin, Martín Pérez, Jonathan Cannon, Shane Smith and Bryse Wilson. Smith, the top pick in the 2024 Rule 5 Draft, was officially named to the Opening Day roster on Thursday, while Pérez started against the Angels.
A search for that future White Sox ace begins at the Major League level, but in this latest rebuild, it’s best to look to the Minors for that next rotation anchor. Noah Schultz (White Sox No. 1 prospect, per MLB Pipeline) and Hagen Smith (No. 3), the top two left-handed pitching prospects in baseball, and right-hander Grant Taylor (No. 7) figure to be rotation mates at Double-A Birmingham to open the ‘25 season.
“I’ve probably been most impressed with their calm demeanor,” said Bannister, specifically focusing on Schultz and Smith. “Big league camp is challenging for anyone -- you’re facing better hitters, you put a lot of pressure on yourself to perform. They’re friends, they have different arsenals even though they’re both left-handed, so they’re out there in different styles.
“They walk around not with an ego but kind of a presence that, ‘I belong here.’ They’ve done their work, throwing professional bullpens already. Just the way they carry themselves, they know they’re going to be big leaguers and it’s just exciting to watch them work.”
Bannister wouldn’t make any prediction related to the ‘25 season about this young trio aside from seeing one of them in the Majors, potentially out of the bullpen, by the end of the season. He also is excited by that high-end staff for Birmingham.
“There is something special about having them play together, building that camaraderie, knowing how to build off each other, see each other, their arsenals are different,” Bannister said. “Go about their work, sharing ideas with each other. There is an important element to keeping guys together and having this continuity.
“When they get up to the big league level, it’s such a transient environment with so many players nowadays switching teams all the time. Them playing together and knowing each other builds something special, and that’s what I’m looking forward to and when the time is right they’ll all get their opportunity. For now, I’m just excited about them being together knowing they have special qualities and they’re going to be special players. And that will compound on each other.”
One of this group figures to emerge as an ace, which is an important presence for a team when it’s ready to contend.
“It’s nice to have that alpha at the front of the rotation, the guy when you start getting back into the playoffs, is leading your team. There’s no doubt he’s pitching Game 1,” Bannister said. “At this point, we have a lot of candidates for that guy in the future. We’ll see who steps up, who stays healthy and who goes out and puts up the best season.”