White Sox secret weapon? Smith excelling in any and every role

CLEVELAND -- After excelling in relief in his first taste of the Majors, rookie lefty Hagen Smith has become a secret weapon of sorts for the White Sox with his ability to both serve as an effective short-term starter in bullpen games and possibly even as a reliever going forward.

After setting the tone with three scoreless innings in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series against the Astros on Tuesday, Smith kept it rolling with 2 2/3 scoreless frames in a 3-0 win over the Guardians in Game 1 of the AL Division Series on Saturday afternoon at Progressive Field. Smith struck out four and didn’t allow a hit while walking three, and he believes he could be ready to pitch again in Game 2 on Monday after having thrown 51 pitches.

“I’ve kind of got used to working that reliever schedule in terms of like every other day and being available,” Smith said. “I've got a good routine with it, so I kind of got drawn into it and that's how it is now, so it's been good.”

Smith, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2024 Draft out of the University of Arkansas, opened the season as a starting pitcher with Triple-A Charlotte before transitioning into a relief role after missing roughly a month with left shoulder impingement. The 23-year-old joined Chicago’s bullpen in early August and was dominant down the stretch, posting a 1.29 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 28 innings.

It earned him the start in the Wild Card round, and he followed it up with another stellar showing against the Guardians to keep the White Sox surprising run going. He displayed elite stuff, with his fastball averaging 95 mph and touching 97.5 mph while keeping hitters off-balance with his 83.5 mph slider and 89 mph cutter.

“He did a really good job of really hitting the corner,” said Guardians designated hitter Jo Adell. “He didn’t really miss middle-middle with very many pitches at all. My one at-bat against him, really good pitch middle-away on the outside corner. He was able to move the fastball around pretty good and move the breaking stuff in and away. I thought he did a really good job.”

Smith cruised early but scuffled in the third inning, exiting with the bases loaded after walking three straight batters with two outs. But fellow lefty Bryan Hudson came in and got Chase DeLauter to fly out to left field to escape trouble.

“It was awesome,” Smith said. "Obviously, that last inning didn't go the way that I wanted it to, but Huddy came in there and shut it down. And [then] everybody else did the same.”

White Sox manager Will Venable said the plan was for Smith to go three or four innings based on his pitch count, but that he ultimately had to lift him in the third because Smith was struggling with his control. It led to some creative decisions from Venable the rest of the way, including using right-hander Grant Taylor for a rare four-inning save.

“We talked coming in about walks and how that's really a recipe for disaster against these guys, and so we were in some tough spots there,” Venable said. “They were starting to get to Hagen in that third inning, walking a couple guys. The plan going in was going to be Hagen, plus Hudson to get through DeLauter that second time through. Obviously Hagen was at the end of his day and walked a few guys, but big out there against DeLauter by Huddy.”

The White Sox have yet to announce who will start Game 2 after Sunday’s off-day, but Venable said he expects right-hander Sean Burke to serve in a bulk role. Smith is unlikely to start again in Game 2 but could possibly be available for an inning. The White Sox could also hold Smith to start Game 3 in Chicago on Wednesday after another off-day on Tuesday.

Smith said he’ll be ready for whatever is asked of him and that he’s simply having fun with his teammates as they continue to surprise fans with their impressive playoff run following three consecutive seasons with more than 100 losses.

“We all have belief in each other,” Smith said. “I think that's the main thing for us -- is that everyone trusts each other when we go out there. That's really the big part of it, and we all play hard and play for each other.”