Sox snag Shane Smith from Brewers in Rule 5 draft
He’ll likely take a swingman role in 2025, providing he can break north out of Arizona
With the first pick in the draft that sorta doesn’t really matter, the White Sox plucked pitcher Shane Smith from the Milwaukee Brewers.
There was little Rule 5 draft suspense as the White Sox selected, as news had broken of the selection a couple of hours previously. Still, Smith has a better chance to stick on the South Side than Shane Drohan did a year ago, or even Nick Avila two years previous.
The 6´4´´, 235-pounder was an undrafted free agent in 2021, after coming out of Wake Forest with a bonus graduation present: Tommy John surgery. A career 2.69 ERA has put the 25-year-old on a solid track up Milwaukee’s ladder, seeing time the rarefied Arizona Fall League in 2023 and spending most of 2024 at Double-A. There, the 24-year-old had 16 starts with a 3.08 ERA/2.88 FIP and an outstanding 106 Ks/26 walks over 87 1⁄3 innings. Smith finished 2024 with a five-game taste of Triple-A as well.
Smith is a big fella, with a pretty big fastball (upwards of 98 mph). He’s a three-pitch guy, proving a starter’s mettle. Command has not traditionally been Smith’s strongest suit, but that 2024 K/BB ratio seems to push the right buttons on his growth.
As a swingman, Smith should find a spot on the Sox in April and stick all year. Drohan would have done the same in all likelihood in 2024, if not for a shoulder injury serious enough to scuttle and shot at seeing the southpaw work. On a team as the White Sox shape up to be, with 100 losses a foregone conclusion, there is zero purpose beyond utter catastrophe for the club to shell out $100,000 to send Smith back to Milwaukee for a $50,000 rental fee.