Fantasy Baseball: Surging prospect Noah Schultz warrants an immediate pickup with word of his promotion

Amid the reports of him coming up to the majors Tuesday, I don't want to leave any room for ambiguity on this: Yes, you should pick up Noah Schultz.

That's not true for every prospect call-up. It's not always worth it to invest in a relative lottery ticket at a position where you're already loaded, and that's especially the case in Head-to-Head leagues, where bench space is best devoted to starting pitchers.

But Schultz is himself a starting pitcher, and I can't think of a league where I couldn't use another one of those. To be clear, that's not because my pitching is bad, but because pitching can easily go bad. If you're not constantly on the lookout for breakout arms to bolster your staff -- or even just to mix in on occasion when the matchups favor it -- you're leaving your fate in the hands of fortune.

More than simply being a pitcher, though, Schultz is special. People forget because he put together a 4.68 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and 9.4 K/9 between two minor league stops last year, but it was only a year earlier that he had a 2.24 ERA, 0.9 WHIP and 11.7 K/9. Baseball America labeled him a top-10 overall prospect at the time. I myself called him the best left-handed pitching prospect in baseball.

You see what he's doing this year? In three appearances at Triple-A, the same level where he had a 9.37 ERA in five starts last year, Schultz has allowed four hits in 14 innings, striking out 19 while walking just two. Small sample, sure, but it's not without precedent. And you don't need to look hard to see what makes him so dominant:

Noah Schultz has dominated this season in Triple-A.

3 GS, 14 IP, 1.29 ERA, 0.43 WHIP, 4.3% BB, 40.4% K, .089 BAA

Your window to buy low in dynasty is closing quickly.#WhiteSoxpic.twitter.com/IADObzeBtV

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) April 9, 2026

That's six feet and 10 inches of limbs from an almost sidearm delivery, which makes for unfamiliar pitch shapes and shorter reaction times. It's such an uncomfortable look that it can be difficult to handle even in a non-competitive scenario.

"Just a nightmare for a hitter," said right-hander Duncan Davitt, Schultz's Triple-A teammate who got to the majors just a shade before he did. "He's kind of hard to play catch with sometimes just because it's funky and it's hard. He's going to be a guy when he gets his chance."

OK, but why not last year? If Schultz is so difficult to read, why did minor league hitters have such an easy time with him then? Well, for one thing, he was hurt, pitching through patellar tendinitis in his right knee that continued to flare up over the course of the season. It likely compromised his mechanics, seeing as he spent three months this offseason at the Boras Sports Institute in Miami to shore them up.

"I'm excited to go out and show it," he said at the start of spring training. "A lot of mechanical things. I was kind of drifting away from some of the things I had done in the past that we cleaned up. I'm really happy with where I'm at."

What things? Well, his arm angle is slightly lower now than during his short stay at Triple-A last year. He's added about a mile per hour across all of his pitches. He also has a new cutter that he's featuring 21 percent of the time. And obviously, he's throwing more strikes -- way more. I'd be skeptical if it was an entirely new development for him, but he issued just 2.4 walks per nine innings during his impressive 2024 season. The bad 2025 is looking more and more like the outlier.

Perhaps the most compelling reason to buy in, though, is that the White Sox in no way had to do this. Schultz wasn't in anyone's sights for a quick promotion after the way he performed last year. The White Sox aren't contending and could have filled the spot in any number of boring ways. They called him up simply because they believe he's ready.

"He's in a good spot," White Sox adviser to pitching Brian Bannister said Sunday. "The velo's there, he's healthy. You can just see his general smile and demeanor. He's confident with where he's at right now. The arsenal is there."

I'm inclined to agree and would prioritize Schultz over any pitchers on the fringes of rosterability in Fantasy. A few examples:

Everywhere? Even when there are SPs like Vasquez, Early and Fuentes on the wire in shallow leagues. You'd really prioritize him "that" much?

— Jamie Campbell (@spacegauche) April 12, 2026

I might hesitate to take Schultz ahead of Connelly Early, but Didier Fuentes isn't even in the majors right now and Randy Vasquez was barely registering in NL-only leagues three weeks ago. Grabbing Schultz ahead of either is an easy call.

Would you drop Sherzer for him

— skol (@pmvikingspm) April 12, 2026

You mean Max Scherzer, the 41-year-old who hasn't been an impactful Fantasy pitcher in three years and may not be healthy even now? Uh ... yeah.

Drop Liberatore?

— JuicedBallsMLB (@JuicedBallsMLB) April 12, 2026

What are we clinging to here? The high whiff rate in spring training that ran counter to the rest of Matthew Liberatore's career and has evaporated with the start of the regular season? Come on, give me a tough one.

Drop Edward Cabrera for him?

— rob mouser (@rmouser40) April 12, 2026

Honestly, yeah. Edward Cabrera has gotten away from what made him so effective last year by leaning into his four-seamer again and is a major liability in ERA and WHIP.

My back end of the rotation is Bubic, Messick, G. Holmes with Merrill Kelly on IL though!

— Jamie Moyer's Fancy Foyer ⚙️ (@Sowses_n_fixins) April 12, 2026

Dropping Grant Holmes or Merrill Kelly for Schultz is A-OK with me. I obviously wouldn't drop Kris Bubic for him, though, and would probably stand pat with Parker Messick as well (though Schultz has the more upside of the two).

Scott, Would you drop Kyle Harrison to pick up Schultz ? @CBSScottWhite

— The Fantasy Punisher (@Fant_Punisher) April 12, 2026

Kyle Harrison is interesting, but he's not Schultz.

would you drop hancock or Messick for him?

— 1TrickNick (@Nichola67110691) April 12, 2026

Emerson Hancock might be the embodiment of "fringes of rosterability," so sure.

Him, Keller or springs for 2 start this week?

— NM (@NMazz_45) April 12, 2026

Mitch Keller and Jeffrey Springs are both among my sleeper pitchers for this week, but I wouldn't forfeit a chance at Schultz for a two-start streamer. The season is long, my friends.

I’d have to drop Delauter or Sheehan in the league I need him most. :(

— Sean Millerick (@miasportsminute) April 12, 2026

Yes, there are some scenarios in shallower leagues where clearing a spot for Schultz simply isn't possible, but he needs to be rostered in your league even if you're not the one capable of rostering him. Just be extra sure that you aren't. Rather than go through every scenario one by one, I'll just cut to the chase and tell you he ranks 66th for me at starting pitcher.

That doesn't make him foolproof, of course. There's really no predicting how a player's first stint in the majors will go, given the enormous leap in difficulty, so you do need to show some restraint in your FAB bidding. I should also note that Schultz threw only 73 innings in the minors last year and has never thrown more than 88 1/3, so he'll likely face workload limitations of some kind, whether it's shorter outings, skipped starts or a soft shutdown like the White Sox implemented with Garrett Crochet two years ago. I don't, however, think now is the time to worry about it. For now, you secure the asset. You allow him to accrue value. You reassess later.

One final thought: A Tuesday debut lines Schultz up for two starts right away -- and with pretty favorable matchups against the Rays and Athletics. For all the unknowns, I don't think I could resist using him right away.