What’s next for Noah Schultz? White Sox looking ahead to 2026 spring training with top pitching prospect
What’s next for Noah Schultz?
It was supposed to be something sooner than spring training.
But that’s the way things have shaken out for the White Sox’ top pitching prospect, whose season is over after being shut down with patellar tendinitis earlier this month.
At least the left-hander, initially slated to play in the Arizona Fall League, won’t need surgery, as farm director Paul Janish shared Monday. But team brass is nonetheless looking toward the spring as the next step in Schultz’s path to the major leagues.
“I do give Noah a ton of credit for the way he handled this situation,” Janish said. “If we are being honest, he was dealing with it a little bit more than he led on at certain times of the year. To give him credit, he really wants to pitch and really wants to be on the field, which obviously we value.
“At this point, [our goal is to] get him healthy for next spring training, going into next year, to be as ready as he can be to hopefully at some point contribute to the major-league team. That’s kind of where we’re at right now.”
The year was a mixed bag for Schultz, currently ranked as the No. 37 prospect in baseball. He performed solidly, to the tune of a 3.34 ERA, in a dozen starts for Double-A Birmingham. But for the second straight year, he had a rough go of it at the Futures Game, and after a promotion to Triple-A Charlotte, his numbers were poor: a monstrous 9.37 ERA in just five starts.
A trip to the Fall League was intended to continue his development before the beginning of next season. But this injury threw a wrench in those plans, and the Sox will have to wait for 2026.
“As goofy as this sounds, Noah is still growing physically,” Janish said of the 6-10 Schultz. “He’s going to continue to get physically more robust. . . . From the physical standpoint, he’s going to develop, which will help him.
“We are going to be paying pretty close attention. Health is going to be a primary concern. We’ll move through next season as his body and his output will allow. I wouldn’t put any parameters [on it] at this point, for sure, knowing Noah and the makeup and knowing what he’s going to do this offseason. I would be very surprised if he’s not in really good shape coming into spring training.
“From an innings standpoint . . . we’ll look at it as an opportunity to try to push him as much as his body shows he will allow.”
Taylor made
Right-handed reliever Grant Taylor seems likely to return to the mound during the final games after throwing a bullpen session Monday that he described positively. The Sox will make a determination on his availability after seeing how he recovers.
The 2023 second-round draft pick has a 5.68 ERA in 31 ‰ innings in his first big-league season.
“We want to finish strong, and he’s a big part of us finishing strong,” manager Will Venable said. “Absolutely, we want him back out there and pitching. Like all our players, we’re not going to put anyone in a position where we’re going to do long-term damage and jeopardize their health. That’s a balance that we consider every day.”