Shaky to Settled: Grading Noah Schultz' Highly-Anticipated White Sox Debut
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Butterflies might as well have been circling Noah Schultz as he stepped onto the mound Tuesday night.
The 22-year-old was making his highly anticipated MLB debut, and the nerves were on full display. How could they not be standing on a mound that was roughly 57 miles from where he played high school ball? It's said that nearly 500 friends and family filled the The Rate stands for the big event. If he hadn't had a few early jitters, the MLB may have done an investigation into whether the Sox were starting a flamethrowing robot.
Yandy Díaz represented Schultz' first opponent. The Tampa Bay Rays designated hitter was able to draw a full count before flying out to left field. Despite retiring his first batter, Schultz' sloppiness only intensified. He proceeded to walk back-to-back Rays while throwing only two strikes. His four-straight balls against Junior Caminero weren't even close to touching the zone.
Ryan Vilade would proceed to double off a 97.4 mph fastball to bring in a run. It was then Ben Williamson who could smell Schultz' unease and surprised him with a sac bunt. The six-foot-ten pitcher stumbled over to the ball before throwing it too hard toward Edgar Quero. Two Rays would score.
Facing a quick 3-0 deficit with only one out, it felt like the wheels could fall all the way off for the rookie. But, to his credit, he didn't allow shaky command or an unfortunate error to throw him off. Schultz would finish off the next two batters, even recording his first strikeout to end the inning against Johnny DeLuca on three straight strikes: Cutter, Cutter, and a wicked 98.3 mph four-seamer for the swing and miss.
That's what fans were waiting for!
“Bounced back after the first inning I think. Got ahead of hitters a little bit more. I think there were definitely nerves the first inning and nerves the whole time. But things to definitely work on and good to get the first out of the way," Schultz said after the game.
How Did Noah Schultz' Look in MLB Debut?
Noah Schultz' confidence only built after ending his first frame strong. He would come back out against an eager Tampa team and retire the side in just 11 pitches – seven of which found the zone. Two of the balls that were put in play for outs came off a pitch of 97+ mph. Tampa's batters just couldn't make the kind of clean contact they were looking for.
The top of the order came up again in the third, and Schultz ran into some trouble again. After recording his second strikeout of the evening to lead off the inning, he would walk the power-hitting Caminero again. Can you blame him for not going right after him? Another single and double would make it a 4-0 deficit, but the damage finally stopped there.
Schultz would go on to finish the evening giving up three earned runs (four total), three hits, and four walks. It may not be the most jaw-dropping stat line, but it looks a lot better when we consider two of those walks and three of those runs came in the top of the first. Not to mention, he did an increasingly better job getting ahead of batters, ending with a first-pitch strike rate of 75.0 percent.
Noah Schultz, Painted 82mph Slider. 🖌️🎨 pic.twitter.com/KI69NqAfgY
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 15, 2026
We also shouldn't fail to consider that he managed to settle into this game despite struggling to locate his slider. One of his most deadly pitches, Schultz was quick to mention this after the game and noted that he's happy to have a deep arsenal. Overall, he would toss five different pitches, balancing things pretty evenly between his sinker, cutter, and four-seamer. He will certainly hope this variety leads to more whiffs moving forward, but simply seeing his level of comfort mixing it up was encouraging.
Speaking of which, the fastball looked about as deadly as advertised. It averaged 97.1 mph and maxed out at 98.4 mph. Of the 13 fastballs that came in at 97.0+, Schultz either got a strike call or recorded an out on seven of them.
At the end of the day, we can't deem this a perfect start to Schultz' MLB career, but was that really ever the expectation? All that really matters is that the team got to see him shake off the rust in real time and show an immediate ability to adjust. Add in the fact that many of his pitches looked as nasty as expected, and the night still felt like the start of something potentially special for the southpaw.
Noah Schultz Debut Grade: B
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Elias Schuster is a sports journalist and content creator from the northern suburbs of Chicago. A graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he has covered the Bulls since 2019-20 and previously served as the editor of BN Bulls at Bleacher Nation. He has been the Publisher for Bulls On SI since December of the 2025-26 season. When he isn't obsessing over hoops, Elias spends his time obsessing over practically every other sport – much to his wife's dismay. He also loves strolling the streets of Chicago for the best cozy bar or restaurant to set up shop and write his next article.
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