CHICAGO -- White Sox right-hander Davis Martin plans to host his fellow starting rotation mates at his family’s Eagle Ranch in Texas during the offseason.
That guest list includes Sean Burke, Jonathan Cannon, Shane Smith and Drew Thorpe, along with potentially a few others. This storyline sounds more like a preliminary treatment for "City Slickers 3" if it wasn’t based in reality.
“I sent the dates,” a smiling Martin told MLB.com of the offseason ranch meet-up. “We just have to follow through.”
“Yeah, 100 percent. We’ve been talking about it,” Burke said of the excursion. “Trying to make it happen at some point.”
Martin’s starter conclave really isn’t about home, home on the range, with this ranch named by Martin’s grandfather after their favorite NFL team, but shows the camaraderie formed among this group. There’s not a clear-cut White Sox ace, although Smith was an All-Star in his rookie campaign after coming over as a Rule 5 pick from the Brewers.
It was a crew feeding off each other and relying on each other. And they should only get better with the experience gained in ’25.
“We all pull for each other. We all want each other to have success,” Burke said. “I feel like in the Minors you get guys who are like ‘I hope that guy doesn’t do good so I can pass him or do better.’ With us, it’s more like ‘I want you to do well because I’m going to do better than you’ type of attitude. We are really close friends and push each other to be the best versions of ourselves.”
“Our rotation is the only way I got through this year,” Smith said. “Leaning on them with questions, thoughts about the game: This game sucks, this game is great, the whole spectrum. But yeah, super thankful for everybody in the starting rotation.”
Smith praised the White Sox staff, with a specific nod to pitching coach Ethan Katz and assistant pitching coach Matt Wise, for guiding him through the ups and downs but allowing him to figure things out. Katz did not have his contract renewed by the White Sox, so Smith and his mound mates will have a new leader in 2026 and beyond.
Through 13 starts in ‘25, Smith had a 2.37 ERA and looked like a top-of-the-rotation hurler during his inaugural run as part of a big league rotation. He struggled over the next nine starts but had a 3.17 ERA over his last 11 trips to the mound including a dominant one-hitter over six innings against the Nationals on the final day of the regular season.
Cannon was the most successful returning starter from ’24, with Garrett Crochet traded to Boston at the same Winter Meetings where the team added Smith. Burke earned ’25 Opening Day starter honors but joined Cannon during brief in-season Minor League resets. Burke was told by manager Will Venable and the organization his future is as a starter.
“Obviously, it was an up and down year,” said Burke, whose 133 strikeouts ranked second on the team to Smith’s total of 145. “I learned a ton. This has been the [biggest] learning year for me in baseball I probably ever had, but I’m happy with how I was able to get through the season healthy which was my main goal from Spring Training.
“From here, I’ve shown to the team, I’ve shown myself, that the stuff I have can play at this level. It’s more about fine tuning stuff and continuing to work on executing pitches and recognizing what sequences I can go to when.”
Veterans such as Adrian Houser and Martín Pérez helped Burke and this entire young rotation learn about starting nuances, and the team figures to add at least one experienced arm. Noah Schultz (No. 2 White Sox prospect, No. 40 overall) and Hagen Smith (No. 5, No. 88), the No. 1 and No. 3 left-handed pitching prospects, per MLB Pipeline, should hit the Majors in ’26.
Thorpe, Mason Adams and Ky Bush, who all underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery during Spring Training, could be back by the second half, although not all will be starters. Then there’s Martin.
The 28-year-old joked in Spring Training how he was with the “cool kids,” as his locker was positioned among starter’s row in the clubhouse. He raced past his career-highs with 26 appearances (25 starts) and 142 2/3 innings, finishing with a 4.10 ERA, and was a leader on this roster.
His leadership role continues, with plans to bring the starters together at an undisclosed ranch location in Texas. Bullpen sessions will be optional.