CHICAGO – Shane Smith was entrusted with setting the tone for the White Sox pitching staff – and really the White Sox overall – when selected as the team’s 2026 Opening Day starter on March 26 in Milwaukee.
Smith’s choice made perfect sense. He rose from the top pick in the 2024 Rule 5 Draft to the team’s lone All-Star selection in 2025, leading the team in innings pitched at 146 1/3 and strikeouts at 145.
Now, just four days after his 26th birthday, Smith has been tasked with a different sort of challenge. He was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte prior to Wednesday’s 5-3 loss to the Orioles at Rate Field, a move coming just three individual starts and 11 games into the campaign.
Although Smith made steps in the right direction by striking out eight against the Orioles on Tuesday, his command continued to be out of whack. He walked five, hit one batter and needed 99 pitches (57 strikes) to get through 3 2/3 innings.
Smith has walked nine over just 8 1/3 innings in total this season.
“Shane clearly is in a spot where he needs to get to the best version of himself, and he’s not quite there right now,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “As he continues to work through the things that he needs to do to get there, we can’t have that happen here where it comes with the cost of wins, at the cost of our bullpen.
“Give him a chance to go down to Charlotte with a very clear, structured plan and really get back to dominating with the four-seam fastball. It’s what we’ve seen from him and part of his superpower, what makes him great. That will be the focus for him.”
When told of the move to Charlotte, Smith completely understood, according to Venable.
“He’s a total pro,” Venable said. “Understands the spot he’s putting the team in, and really it’s about getting him to be the best version of himself. This guy is a very good pitcher who is a very important part of this organization and an important part of our success. He understands that and wants to be right and the best version of himself.
“He’ll go to work with a good attitude, and he’s excited to make his adjustments. He knows it will be a short-term thing and getting right back to what we expect him to do in the big leagues.”
“Short term” does not include a specific timeline for Smith’s return. There’s a very clear idea of what Smith needs to do and the organization needs to do for him. As soon as he’s ready, he’ll come right back up, according to Venable.
Fastball command is the key area of focus for Smith, who is averaging more than one walk per inning after struggling with his command during Spring Training. According to Statcast, batters have a .143 average against that fastball, an expected batting average of .056 and a hard-hit rate of 0.0. He’s generating whiffs with the pitch at 26.9% compared to 25.3% last year, but there have been too many of those pitches outside the zone.
Also of note is that Smith’s arm angle this season checks in at 36 degrees compared to 34 last season, which could be enough to affect command.
“I think about games last year where, ‘Gosh, he’s bullying guys with his fastball in the zone.’ He’s really confident in it,” Venable said. “I haven’t seen that this year, and that’s what he will be working on. Yesterday was a really good example [that] when he is good and in the zone, he’s getting a ton of swing and miss. The curveball, the changeup was really good.
“Really, it was the four-seam fastball throughout, yanking it a lot and not real confident in using it. A little too erratic for him to be effective. He’s going to be working on that four-seam fastball and the total mix. Clean up some things in his pregame. And in his bullpens. And some mechanical stuff and get him right back on track.”
Southpaw Tyler Schweitzer, 25, had his contract selected from Triple-A Charlotte, replacing Smith on the active roster and joining the bullpen.
Schweitzer, Chicago’s No. 23 prospect per MLB Pipeline, made his Major League debut Wednesday, stranding two runners in the eighth and allowing one run in 1 1/3 innings. He picked up his first career strikeout against Pete Alonso to end the top of the ninth.
Charlotte manager Chad Pinder delivered the news in the second inning of the Knights’ game Tuesday, getting Schweitzer to the dugout from the bullpen by telling him he had a drug test.
“It’s very special. It’s a special day for everyone,” said Schweitzer, who had 20 friends and family at the Rate for his debut. “Not many people get to say you’re an MLB baseball player. Everyone is just super happy for me.”