Jairo

Iriarte

The White Sox are being proactive with two of their top pitching prospects and trying to limit their overall pitch counts during the season, while continuing to optimize their mechanics. There is no word yet on how long Smith and Iriarte will be taking this break, but they should return to minor league action at some point over the summer and will be options for the White Sox rotation in 2026.

Schultz and Smith are the two top prospects in the White Sox system but were always longshots to make the Opening Day roster. Eder and Iriarte will be only one step away from the big leagues and could get a chance to pitch meaningful MLB innings this season.

Iriarte didn’t allow any hits, so he was able to survive the poor control. Just 25 of his 52 pitches went for strikes. Iriarte is battling for one of two openings in the White Sox rotation.

Iriarte, who was acquired earlier this year from the Padres in the Dylan Cease blockbuster, is an extremely interesting pitching prospect. However, he’s unlikely to make a massive fantasy impact since Fegan adds that he’s expected to pitch in relief for Chicago. The 22-year-old righty is getting a look with the rebuilding White Sox for the final few weeks of the year after posting a solid 3.71 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 122/57 K/BB ratio across 126 innings (23 appearances, 22 starts) for Double-A Birmingham.