The Biggest White Sox Decision Facing Will Venable Before Game 1

The Chicago White Sox are going to have to handle Hagen Smith's workload carefully in their opener against the Astros.

Aug 28, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Chicago White Sox pitcher Hagen Smith (32) delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins in the sixth inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Chicago White Sox announced on Monday that Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series against the Houston Astros will be a bullpen game. Rookie sensation Hagen Smith will get the start, but that means Will Venable faces a big decision heading into Game 1.

Biggest Decision

Sep 12, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Chicago White Sox pitcher Hagen Smith (32) delivers against the St. Louis Cardinals during the fifth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With Hagen Smith starting, how long do you let him go for? In 18 games during the regular season (28 innings), Smith pitched to an unbelievable 1.29 ERA with 41 strikeouts and 16 walks. His call-up was bold at the time, but has paid dividends since. With the organization choosing to go with a bullpen game, they'll roll with a high-leverage arm starting this pivotal game.

Smith can go multiple innings, with a career high of three in the majors. We know he can do this because he was once a starter. The former first-round pick has the stuff and, so far, good enough control to get out of messes. However, with this potent top of the Astros lineup, it's a tough situation to have a rookie in.

Smith is almost guaranteed to face presumptive AL MVP Yordan Alvarez at least once. The feared Astros hitter had 42 home runs and 106 runs driven in with a .316 average and 1.033 OPS. The likely calculus for having Smith face Alvarez is that he is not nearly as good versus lefties, with a .265/.337/.488 slash line. Those are still pretty good numbers, but Smith's wicked arsenal could very well fool Alvarez.

The bigger question, however, is when to lift Smith for presumptive bulk reliever Erick Fedde. It was a bit of a surprise when Venable announced that Fedde would not start Game 1 outright. However, he is likely to have a huge role in this game, with Sean Burke and Davis Martin likely to pitch in the other two games of the series.

Fedde, in 33 games (15 starts), has posted a 3.83 ERA in 141 innings. But he has been improving down the stretch. In his last seven games, Fedde has a 1.44 ERA. He will be key in this game, and when Venable puts him in will be the toughest decision. Of course, if Smith struggles early, Venable may have no other choice at the time. With all hands on deck and just 12 pitchers on the Wild Card roster, how Venable uses his relievers will be telling for how the rest of the series will go, and perhaps the rest of the playoffs if Chicago advances.