White Sox place LHP Noah Schultz on the 15-day IL

Some changes are coming to the starting rotation.

The White Sox announced that left-hander Noah Schultz has been placed on the 15-day IL (retroactive to May 25) with right knee patellar tendinitis. In his place, as previously reported, right-hander David Sandlin has been recalled from Triple-A Charlotte.

Since having his contract selected on April 14, Schultz has shown flashes of what has made him one of baseball’s top pitching prospects, though the transition to the majors has come with expected growing pains. Across his first eight career starts, the rookie lefty owns a 2-4 record with a 5.82 ERA (25 ER/38.2 IP) and 1.35 WHIP. While holding opponents to a .216 batting average and striking out 33, Schultz has also walked 22 batters in that span. Perhaps a reason for his stuff not looking as sharp over his past few starts can be attributed to this same injury that plagued him last season, as our Michael Suareo alluded to on the latest episode of the Sox On 35th Podcast.

On the opposite end of this roster move is the promotion of Sandlin, who was the main piece of this offseason’s trade with the Red Sox centered around reliever Jordan Hicks. The right-hander and current No. 18 prospect in the organization was someone the Sox believe could be added to their rotation at some point, and it appears that the team is ready to give him a shot.

At 25 years old, the righty is coming off a 106-inning campaign with the Red Sox across the Double-A and Triple-A levels in 2025. He was strong in 17 games (13 starts) in Double-A, posting a 3.61 ERA while striking out 25% of hitters. He was then moved to the Triple-A bullpen, where he struggled in 15 appearances and 23.2 innings, posting a 7.61 ERA.

Having recovered from some injuries earlier this season, Sandlin owns a 0.55 ERA with a 1.41 WHIP and 26 strikeouts in six starts between High-A Winston-Salem and Triple-A Charlotte. Standing at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, it’s fair for the White Sox to eventually give him a chance out of the rotation with that starter-type frame. He’s posted velocities in the mid-90s late into games, and has been able to run it as high as 101 miles per hour in controlled, bullpen settings.

However, a closer look at those ERA and WHIP numbers tells a story of a player who will likely have some further development work to do in the majors. While he is striking out 35.1% of hitters, he is walking 14.9% of them, a rate that is unsustainable for a major league starter who needs to get his team late into ballgames. It would appear Sandlin will now be entering the rotation, as he has been starting games this season after returning from brief issues with elbow soreness and back discomfort earlier this year. We’ll see how far he can work into games as he begins his Major League stint in Chicago with a start on Wednesday.

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Featured Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images