Minor League Baseball

Terrific Trio of Young Chicago White Sox Pitchers Learn Minor League Assignments

Where will Noah Schultz, Hagen Smith and Grant Taylor begin the 2025 season?
Jami Leabow|
Chicago White Sox pitcher Noah Schultz (76) throws the first pitches of his major league career during the fifth inning of a spring training game against the San Diego Padres at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz., on Feb. 26, 2025.
Chicago White Sox pitcher Noah Schultz (76) throws the first pitches of his major league career during the fifth inning of a spring training game against the San Diego Padres at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz., on Feb. 26, 2025. | Allan Henry-Imagn Images

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Chicago White Sox

Fans in Birmingham, Ala., are in for a triple treat.

The Chicago White Sox have assigned their top three pitching prospects to Double-A Birmingham to start the season, putting Noah Schultz, Hagen Smith and Grant Taylor in the starting rotation.

If they live up to what they’ve shown so far, the White Sox rotation of the future could rival the best in baseball. It’s way too early to make a comparison with the old Atlanta Braves rotation that featured future Baseball Hall of Fame members Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz, but there’s no question all three have the potential for incredible major league careers.

Schultz is the No. 16 prospect in baseball, as ranked by MLB Pipeline. Smith is No. 34. The pair of 21-year-olds are the top two left-handed pitching prospects in the rankings. Taylor, 22, is the No. 7 prospect in the White Sox system.

“We can all agree that we're excited about the prospect of those guys, obviously continuing their development at the Minor League level, getting used to pitching every fifth day,” said Paul Janish, the team’s director of player development, per MLB Pipeline. “But really ultimately looking forward to being able to tell the story about how those guys were all in the same Double-A rotation in a couple of years when hopefully they're Major League All-Stars.”

The White Sox also announced the minor league placement of other top prospects, as ranked by MLB Pipeline, including Top 100 players: outfielder Braden Montgomery (No. 54 overall), infielder Colson Montgomery (No. 39) and catchers Kyle Teel (No. 32) and Edgar Quero (No. 65).

Heading to Single-A Kannapolis are Braden Montgomery and fellow outfielders George Wolkow (No. 10 White Sox prospect) and Nick McClain (No. 28 White Sox prospect).

Colson Montgomery, Teel and Quero are bound for Triple-A Charlotte, the latter duo making a dynamic 1-2 punch behind the plate. Infielder Chase Meidroth, the No. 8 White Sox prospect, will join them there.

The White Sox are clearly in a rebuilding mode, but it is becoming clear that the future in Chicago is very bright.

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Jami Leabow
JAMI LEABOW

Jami Leabow is the managing editor of Minor League Baseball on SI. Her love for the game began when her parents bought season tickets to the then-California Angels.

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