White Sox Pitching Prospect Shines In Season Debut With Birmingham Barons

Chicago White Sox prospect Hagen Smith made a strong first impression in his season debut Saturday with the Double-A Birmingham Barons.

Smith, 21, is a 6-foot-3 left-handed pitcher who's ranked No. 3 among White Sox prospects and No. 32 overall, according to MLB.com's rankings. The White Sox selected Smith No. 5 overall in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Arkansas, where he posted a 2.04 ERA with 161 strikeouts in 84 innings during the 2024 season.

That high strikeout rate was on full display in his first start for the Barons. Across four no-hit innings, Smith allowed one earned run, walked four batters and struck out 10.

A Double-A debut to remember for Hagen Smith!

The @whitesox No. 3 prospect racks up a career-high 10 K's over four no-hit innings in his first start for the @BhamBarons. pic.twitter.com/bLO5reqgPT
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 6, 2025

The 10 strikeouts mark a career-high in Smith's professional career, which featured three starts and just 7.2 innings with the High-A Winston Salem Dash during the 2024 season. There should be plenty more where that came from, as Smith struck out 10 or more batters in 11 of 16 outings for Arkansas in 2024, including a season-high 17 strikeouts against Oregon State.

Smith ran into some trouble in the first inning, hitting the leadoff man by pitch and walking two of the next three batters. Smith threw a wild pitch to the clean-up hitter, which allowed a runner to score despite not allowing a hit. But he got out of the inning with two strikeouts, fanning hitters with an elevated fastball and a breaking ball on the low, outside corner.

He struggled with command again in the second as he walked the first two batters. But he blew a fastball past Jordan Nwogu for the first out, and ended the inning inducing a flyout and a groundout.

Smith was nearly flawless in the third inning. He struck out the first batter on four pitches, sitting him down with a breaking ball in the dirt. He painted the outside corner to strike out the next batter, then overpowered Felix Stevens with a fastball up in the zone.

The fourth inning followed a similar script. Smith struck out Ethan Hearn looking with a fastball, and then got Hayden Cantrelle to whiff at a fastball on the high, outside corner. He fanned former first-round pick Ed Howard with a breaking ball in the dirt to end the fourth, who would be Smith's last batter after 73 pitches.

After some early control issues, Smith retired nine straight batters to end his season debut. The Barons' bullpen allowed five earned runs across the final three innings to lose 6-4 and give Smith a no-decision.

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