Do White Sox Deserve Another Player On MLB All-Rookie Team?
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Baseball America released its 2025 MLB All-Rookie team on Thursday, and it was no surprise to see Colson Montgomery make the cut.
Despite only playing 71 games this season, Montgomery tied for second among rookies with 21 home runs, and matched Boston's Roman Anthony for fifth with 2.7 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs. Montgomery primarily played shortstop this season, but he's the starting designated hitter on this team, with Jacob Wilson getting the nod at shortstop.
Other obvious selections include the Athletics' Nick Kurtz, whose 36 home runs and 1.002 OPS will earn him the American League Rookie of the Year award, along with Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin and Chicago Cubs pitcher Cade Horton, the top contenders for National League Rookie of the Year.
The White Sox were also pleased with the rookie seasons of Kyle Teel, Chase Meidroth, Edgar Quero and others. But when it comes to Baseball America's All-Rookie team, the White Sox main gripe comes on the pitching staff.
Baseball American selected five starting pitchers –– Kansas City's Noah Cameron, Chicago's Cade Horton, Milwaukee's Chad Patrick and the Yankee's Cam Schlittler and Will Warren –– plus one reliever, Toronto's Braydon Fisher.
From the White Sox perspective, the one selection that doesn't entirely add up is Warren getting a spot in the rotation over All-Star right-hander Shane Smith.
Let's compare the resumes.
Statistic | Shane Smith, White Sox | Will Warren, Yankees |
|---|---|---|
Games | 29 | 33 |
Innings Pitched | 146.1 | 162.1 |
ERA | 3.81 | 4.44 |
WHIP | 1.19 | 1.37 |
FIP | 4.10 | 4.07 |
bWAR | 2.4 | 0.6 |
fWAR | 2.2 | 2.1 |
Hits | 117 | 158 |
Home runs | 17 | 22 |
Walks | 58 | 65 |
Strikeouts | 145 | 171 |
Record | 7-8 | 9-8 |
Smith gets the nod in several key categories here, including ERA, WHIP and WAR. Warren has a slight edge in FIP, and a few of his counting stats are better, which is a result of making four more starts than Smith. But they also have identical walks per nine innings, while Warren has a minor advantage in strikeouts per nine.
It's hard to say exactly how Baseball America came to the conclusion to pick Warren over Smith, but it seems to be a product of simply having pitched more innings. The Yankees had far more team success than the White Sox, which could also be a factor, but sticking to individual production seems most appropriate when picking an All-Rookie team.
Our 2025 MLB All-Rookie Team 🏆
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) October 2, 2025
More details: https://t.co/NHPsJ2whhp pic.twitter.com/u38lyDfetI
Regardless of postseason awards, Smith's rookie season still represents a major win for the White Sox. He became the first Rule 5 Draft pick since Miami's Dan Uggla in 2006 to make the All-Star team in the year immediately following their selection, and looks to be a key piece to the starting rotation going into next season.
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Jack Ankony is the beat writer for “Chicago White Sox on SI.” He has been with the Sports Illustrated network since 2022. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism in 2022. Follow Jack on Twitter @ankony_jack
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