The 5 – Five Things You Should Know About Shane Smith – White Sox Pitcher
The biggest story out of Spring Training for our White Sox SO FAR, has been Shane Smith’s dominating performance against the Dodgers on 3/8/25.
Smith struck out Ohtani twice — swinging in the first inning and looking in the third — and did not allow a runner past first base. He also whiffed Freeman, Will Smith and Chris Taylor, ending his third start of the spring with 49 pitches, including 32 for strikes.
https://www.mlb.com/news/shane-smith-strikes-out-5-in-spring-start-vs-dodgers
https://twitter.com/FleecedByGetz/status/1898489985181126942
I thought it would be a great time to give you five things you should know about Shane Smith.
Shane was acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2024 Rule 5 draft.
What is the Rule 5 Draft? Since 1920 MLB has held a Rule 5 draft which hopes to prevent MLB teams from stockpiling talent in their minor league system. Players signed at age 18 or younger need to be added to their club’s 40-Man roster within five seasons or they become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. Players who signed at age 19 or older need to be protected within four seasons. If you select a player, that player must stay on your 26-man roster for the entire season.
My wife’s cousin TJ McFarland was picked up by Baltimore in the 2012 Rule 5 Draft. Baltimore went to the playoffs that year. Many said it was due to TJ’s signing.
He Throws Strikes.
Shane’s fastball tops out at about 98.4 MPH. 44% of his fastballs were either called strikes or wiffs. He also mixes in a slider, changeup and curveball. But he relies heavily on his fastball to establish control and take over the game.
He went undrafted after college.
After redshirting the 2019 season, Smith posted a 2-0 record as the team’s closer in 2020 (Season shortened by COVID-19). In five total innings, Shane fanned nine batters while allowing just one hit and one earned run. In 2021, Smith took hold of a spot in the weekend rotation, starting weekend games against Northeastern (3.0 innings) and Notre Dame (2.1 innings) before suffering a season-ending injury. In each appearance, Smith struck out five batters. He signed a FA contract with Milwaukee in 2021.
He is in the running to be a starter for the White Sox in 2025.
On a team searching for starting pitching, games like Saturday make some noise. Smith has been lights out since his first start, lowering his ERA from 21.60 on Feb. 24 to its current mark of 5.40, and has also brought his WHIP down to 0.75. He struck out Ohtani, who entered the game batting .417 with a HR, TWICE. While it’s only Spring Training, Venable said Smith is being considered as a potential starter.
He has twin sisters!
And from what I can tell they like baseball, beer, betting, motorcycles and being badasses.
Kay even played football for the Seattle Mist so sports runs in the family.
You can check them out on X here and here. You can also follow Shane on X here.
Kay will be competing in the #108Tourney for this first time this year, show her some love! She is playing today and you can vote for her HERE.
Thanks for reading!
-MSS
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About The Author
mysoxsummer
108 OG / The Face Of The 108 / #108ING / #SoChoice