This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin’s White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
CHICAGO -- The phrase “bullpen game” might have once evoked thoughts of not necessarily a lost night, but certainly somewhat of a make-do game ahead for the Major League team employing such a strategy.
For the White Sox on Sunday, it meant 15 strikeouts against one walk with four hits allowed during a 10-1 victory over the Twins. Hagen Smith and Grant Taylor were at the heart of this five-pitcher dominance, covering five total innings with seven strikeouts, one walk and one Brooks Lee home run yielded by Taylor.
Smith, a 23-year-old southpaw, and Taylor, a 24-year-old right-hander, were drafted by the White Sox with original thoughts of the starting rotation in mind. But they currently reside as part of one of the American League’s best relief crews, pushing the White Sox closer to the postseason and quite possibly sustaining them when they officially arrive.
“You want to get there, and I didn’t know exactly how I would get there,” Smith told me during a recent interview of envisioning his big league role. “But just kind of going on along for the ride and just work my butt off.”
“I feel great,” Taylor told me prior to Tuesday’s series opener against the Pirates. “I was talking to [bullpen coach] Matt Wise the other day and if you would have told me I would be at [75] innings at the beginning of September. ... I’m kind of surprised how good my body feels at this point. It feels like we are at the beginning of the season.”
Not only is Taylor at 75 innings, but he's posted a 2.16 ERA over 55 games. Taylor has fanned 97, walked 26 and produced a .193 opponents average against. He started four games as an opener, ranks first among active White Sox with eight saves and has pitched pretty much everywhere in between.
Taylor’s usage might be more in a pure closer role over the final 18 games of the season and into October. But having pitchers such as Smith and Taylor together, along with Bryan Hudson, Sean Newcomb and Jordan Hicks, often means those high leverage times could translate into more important earlier work for Taylor.
“It’s meant a lot. It’s the multi-inning, the shutdown stuff and the openness to do it at different points,” said White Sox manager Will Venable of Taylor. “He always makes himself available. You look at the characteristics of what elite, amazing relievers look like, Grant has all those attributes.”
“We’ve been really good, especially as of late and for the better part of the year,” said Taylor of the White Sox bullpen. “It’s being able to pitch when your name is called upon, and a lot of guys willing to put your bodies on the line and throw in situations that they are not necessarily used to. A lot of guys have had a lot of success.”
As a whole, the White Sox relievers rank No. 1 in the AL in innings pitched (672 1/3), strikeouts (636), tied for first in wins (40) and tied for third with a 3.65 ERA. Since June 23, the bullpen has a 2.85 ERA in 321 2/3 innings.
Adding Smith -- ranked by MLB Pipeline as the White Sox No. 4 prospect -- from Triple-A Charlotte has been a huge boost. He retired all nine batters faced Sunday, striking out four over a career-high three innings, and has a 0.56 ERA over 10 games and 16 innings. The opposition is 5-for-52 against him.
“Just seeing him have so much success, the swings he’s getting off of really good hitters,” said Taylor of Smith. “It’s fun to watch.”
“You aren’t out there for six innings,” Smith said. “So, just go out there and attack hitters. Just going out there and attacking and trust the catchers, what they have planned, and trust your stuff.”
COMPLETE WHITE SOX PROSPECT COVERAGE
Paul Skenes, one of the game’s top starting pitchers (who will not be working in this three-game set against the Pirates), has remained friends with Taylor since their LSU days. Taylor is also friendly with Bubba Chandler, dating back to high school and travel ball days. The two had dinner on Monday’s off-day.
Maybe it will be Taylor and Smith in rotation spots like Skenes and Chandler for the ’27 season. For now, it’s about finishing off what the White Sox started -- literally and figuratively.
“Definitely something that creeps in your mind, pitching in the postseason, pitching in the World Series,” Taylor said. “It would be pretty cool to be that final out, but we have a division to win. We have a lot to take care of in September.”