Noah Schultz arrived with the kind of buzz that can shape a franchise’s thinking, but his first full big league season gave the White Sox plenty to sort through.
The left-hander opened the year in the rotation after earning a spot in April, and the expectations were obvious. Schultz had already established himself as the organization’s top pitching prospect, and MLB Pipeline had him ranked No. 16 overall. With his low arm slot, a nasty slider and a five-pitch mix, he looked like the kind of arm the Sox could build around for years.
The results, though, were uneven from the start. There were flashes that matched the hype, including a scoreless six-inning outing against the San Diego Padres on May 1, when he allowed only two hits and three walks.
But there were also rough nights that dragged his season down, like the five runs he gave up in 3.2 innings against the Texas Rangers and the seven runs in 3.2 innings against the Angels. Too often, the outings were simply too short and too damaging.
By the end of the season, Schultz had a 5.57 ERA and a 9.6% walk rate, and he also missed all of June with knee tendonitis. For a pitcher whose biggest questions were always command, control and durability, those issues showed up in exactly the way the White Sox feared. Illness and injuries had already interrupted his senior high school season, his 2023 draft year and then his 2025 campaign, which ended with career-worst numbers.
Even with all that, the White Sox are not backing away from him. They still need starting pitching, and Schultz’s ceiling remains higher than most arms they could realistically add through a trade or free agency. That makes him part of their long-term picture, even if the exact shape of that role in 2027 is still unsettled.
The most obvious path is still the one the Sox want most: Schultz in the rotation, taking regular turns and settling in as a starter. But there’s no guarantee they’ll be willing to let him learn on the job if the team is trying to push forward.
Starting pitching was their biggest weakness in 2026, and Schultz was brought up as an injury replacement. In hindsight, that move may have been rushed, even though he was pitching well in Triple-A at the time.
The front office also has to balance patience with practicality. Chris Getz is not known for waiting around, and the Sox may not want to absorb too many losses while Schultz works through growing pains.
At the same time, they’ve shown a willingness to stick with top prospects in everyday roles, as Braden Montgomery did during his own rookie struggles. If Schultz looks ready in spring, the Sox could give him a handful of starts early and see where it goes.
There’s also a real bullpen angle here. Schultz returned in September after a Triple-A demotion and worked out of relief the rest of the way.
He didn’t start again, and his longest appearance was 3.1 innings, but the results were encouraging. He posted a 2.00 ERA in 9.0 regular season relief innings, then added a three-inning postseason outing in which he allowed one run.
That kind of usage opens the door to a different conversation. Pitchers with good stuff who can’t consistently get deep into games often end up in relief, and the Sox have leaned on their bullpen heavily.
Still, Schultz is only 23, and it’s far too early to label him a reliever for good. The White Sox need starters badly enough that they’re likely to give him every chance to stay in that lane.
If they want to get creative, they could use him in bulk relief behind an opener or in a piggyback setup, something they used often in 2026. They could also send him back to Triple-A, where he’d get regular starts and a lower-pressure environment to keep building. That would be the safer route if the Sox decide they want to slow things down, and it would also signal that they still view him as a starter rather than a bullpen piece.
The September move raised the question of whether the Sox were more interested in getting an extra arm than in protecting his development, or whether they simply wanted to test him in a different role. The answer was probably somewhere in the middle. Either way, a return to Triple-A remains on the table, especially if the organization wants him to make specific adjustments over the winter.
For now, the best guess is that Schultz opens in some kind of rotation role, even if it’s a swingman or piggyback setup at first. He still carries too much value to be pushed into full-time relief, and the Sox don’t exactly have a surplus of dependable starters. He also doesn’t have much left to prove in Triple-A, and he has already shown he can get major league hitters out, even if the consistency hasn’t been there yet.
The opportunity is still there for him. He’ll just have to win it again.
In Other News...
White Sox Could Be Facing A Crucial Outfield Decision Soon
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Chicago may not need a complete overhaul, but it does need to decide whether it wants to bank on internal continuity or look outside for a more dependable fit in the corners. The free-agent market offers a few names who could make sense for different reasons, and the White Sox will have to weigh fit, upside and how much risk they want to carry as they try to build a roster that can actually stay in the race next year. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Face A Free Agency Decision They Rarely Make
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For a franchise that has rarely been in position to chase that level of pitcher, the conversation matters as much as the fit itself. The White Sox also have a broader backdrop to watch, with MLB's proposed salary cap plan for 2028 already rejected by the players' union, a reminder that the economics of the sport could shift again before any long-term decision is made. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Suddenly Face A Coaching Problem Fans Should Watch
The White Sox have another offseason coaching ripple to sort through after Joel McKeithan, who had been serving as the clubs assistant hitting coach, landed a new job with the St. Louis Cardinals. His move comes as Chicago continues to shape the hitting side of its staff under Derek Shomon, and it leaves the organization with a familiar kind of task: replacing a coach who had been part of the day-to-day work with the lineup and the development plan.
Ryan Fuller, the White Sox director of hitting, publicly acknowledged McKeithans contributions and wished him well, which at least signals a clean parting of ways. The bigger question now is how Chicago fills that opening and what kind of voice it wants alongside Shomon as the club keeps trying to build a more consistent offensive identity. [Read more 🡒]