Will Noah Schultz stay in the rotation? Sox face tough decision

A week away from the trade deadline, it’s the season of tough roster decisions. For the surprise White Sox, who entered Monday night’s game against the Yankees with a 2.5 game lead over the Guardians, one of the choices that might have to be made involves rookie starter Noah Schultz.

Since being called up on April 14, Schultz has struggled to show more than a few flashes of the potential that earned him a first-round pick out of high school in 2022. Teams always have to weigh individual player development against trying to win games when a young player gets called up to the majors, but that scale can get tipped away from the player in a season like the White Sox are having.

That might mean Schultz gets moved down to Triple-A at some point to keep working on things. Patience for that at the major league level gets thin for teams in a playoff hunt, regardless of your years of major league experience. Just ask veteran Jameson Taillon, who was designated for the assignment by the Cubs on Monday.

Before Schultz took the mound against the Yankees, manager Will Venable was careful not to say this outing was of any particular importance beyond winning an individual game.

“I think it’s just an important outing because we just have to find a way to beat the Yankees,” he said. “Certainly in Noah’s progression and development and continuing to be at his best, he needs to pitch well to do that. For him, for all of us, it’s an important outing.”

Schultz has made some progress of late, but Venable said the real difference will come if he can get a better handle on his breaking pitches.

“Certainly the strikes were something that was top of mind and top of the list to get him in the zone with his stuff being so good,” Venable said. “He was able to do that but there’s some shapes that he’s trying to get back to; whether that’s more depth on the sweeper, more [vertical] fastball. Just kind of doing whatever he can to refine his shapes is kind of the thing that’s on the top of the list as he goes into this one. Also of course maintaining the ability to attack the zone and maintain count leverage.”

Against the Yankees on Monday, Schultz did enough to show why the Sox are invested in his long-term development, but he also showed why it might be time for him to regroup in Triple-A. Through the first three innings, Schultz notched five strikeouts without a walk and just one hit. But then things went awry quickly. In the fourth, Schultz loaded the bases on back-to-back walks and a single. He got Anthony Volpe to ground out to short, but that was the end of Schultz’s night.

Schultz ended up throwing only 72 pitches in all, but by the fourth inning, he’d gotten into several full counts, so the leash was already getting short. Venable said there was consideration for leaving Schultz in to try and work out of his fourth-inning jam, but ultimately he decided to pull him given that the Sox had just a two-run lead at that point in the game.

“I understood the decision. It doesn’t upset me,” Schultz said. “I think it was probably the right thing to do in the right moment. The inning hadn’t been going very well going up to that. So I would not say that I was upset. I think that was the right move. I think that I clearly had lost it there.”

Schultz had success by leaning on his four-seam and two-seam fastballs more heavily in Monday’s start, but the key for him remains getting his breaking pitches right. Schultz said the pitch shapes on his slider were better against the Yankees and that his cutter was working well for him early on.

The question, though, is if Schultz showed enough in this most recent start to at least get another turn in the rotation for the White Sox. There’s no definitive answer, at least not in the hours after Monday night’s 9-5 loss to the Yankees, as to whether Schultz will remain in the big league rotation or get moved down to Triple-A Charlotte.

“Just like we do every time through, we evaluate what we think is the best thing for us, and we’ll continue with that process,” Venable said. “But I thought that was a step forward for [Schultz]. Really good there for the three innings, and maybe he gets through that there in the fourth if I leave him in there. But I thought he did a nice job, and we’ll talk about it moving forward just like we do every time.”

Of course, moving Schultz out of the Sox rotation means someone has to step up. There are a couple of internal possibilities, like Shane Smith, who was good enough in the first half last season to be an All-Star. But his 4.62 EA in seven Triple-A starts this year doesn’t suggest that he would do a lot better than Schultz right now.

The White Sox did trade for veteran José Urquidy on Sunday, but for the time being he will be in Triple-A Charlotte. How Urquidy might get used when/if he gets called up is still to be decided. Venable said Urquidy will start in Triple-A for the time being, but there’s the possibility of bulk relief as well.

“Whatever the need is, I think that there’s versatility there with him,” Venable said. “He’s done both before. I know he’s got the ability to pitch in bulk but also could come out of the pen and give us different looks.”

A trade for a starting pitcher is also a likely possibility, but that’s a very tough market. There are intriguing arms to be had, but lots of teams vying to get them. Russ Dorsey of Yahoo Sports reported that the Sox might even be contending with their crosstown rivals for Angels starter Reid Detmers.

Whether he gets sent down or not, Schultz may still be a positive factor in the Sox rotation later this season, and if so, that’s a significant gain. But in a season where the Sox are legitimate postseason contenders, they may have to make a hard decision in the short term with Schultz. And in the long term, some time to work on his breaking pitches in Triple-A might be the right developmental decision for the young Sox starter.

“I feel like if you don’t have full confidence in yourself, you shouldn’t be pitching,” Schultz said. “I think it’s something that regardless of outcomes that if you don’t have confidence, you shouldn’t be getting the ball. I never have low confidence in myself. I think there’s always things to work on.”