Garrett Crochet stole the show in his return to Rate Field, but rookie Shane Smith showed the White Sox might not miss their former ace that much.
You wonder if they can put on an encore at Fenway when they face off in round two today.
Crochet nearly no-hit the Chicago White Sox last Sunday when he toed the rubber for the first time in Chicago in a different uniform.
Smith was pretty good too.
He allowed just two runs on five hits over six innings in just his third career start. Not many young pitchers would be up to the task of facing Boston’s potent lineup, let alone dominate the Red Sox for 5.2 innings before giving up those two runs.
Then add in having to duel Crochet pitching for the first time against the franchise that drafted him, and not many guys would be able to handle that pressure.
Then again, getting to the big leagues has not been easy for Smith.
A pandemic wiped out season. A shoulder injury. Tommy John surgery. It took a lot for @shanesmith1144 to get to where he is today.#TheWhiteSoxPodcast | @ChuckGarfien pic.twitter.com/fzNdYff7rN
— White Sox on CHSN (@CHSN_WhiteSox) April 17, 2025
What has stood out about Smith during the early portion of his career is his stuff is giving off the same vibes that Crochet did last season.
Those vibes were that this guy is going to be a stud on the mound. The only difference between Crochet and Smith is that Crochet is a southpaw and throws his fastball a tick harder.
Crochet emerged as an ace after having only thrown only 73 innings out of the bullpen for the White Sox before the 2024 season. Most of those innings came in 2021 due Tommy John surgery wiping out all of the 2022 season for Crochet and some of 2023.
That is why it was also a curious decision for the White Sox to name Crochet’s last year’s Opening Day starter. It became clear from the beginning that Crochet’s stuff had him destined to make the All-Star team.
When you watch Smith deploy his pitching arsenal, you get that same feeling that Crochet provided last season.
What is even more impressive is that Smith’s most dominant pitch is his change-up, a pitch he taught himself in the offseason.
Shane Smith’s Changeup is an absolute weapon. pic.twitter.com/rqM54nvw10
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 8, 2025
Smith has many more hurdles to clear before he can achieve ace status. Crochet had to do the same last season, too.
Eventually, baseball will make adjustments to Smith’s potent pitches, and he will have to adjust back. The same applied to Crochet.
What makes you confident that Smith can achieve what Crochet did is the stuff. If he reaches ace status, it will be the steal of the offseason since all it cost the White Sox was taking him first overall in the Rule 5 Draft.
