Top White Sox pitching prospect Noah Schultz set for MLB debut vs. Rays, undervalued on strikeouts prop

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The Chicago White Sox have been a terrible team for the past three seasons and probably will finish well under .500 again in 2026. But the Pale Hose are on the way back to playoff contention with a farm system loaded with touted prospects. The tallest of them takes a big-league mound tonight for the first time as 6-foot-10 lefty Noah Schultz faces the visiting Tampa Bay Rays.

Royals-White Sox DraftKings prop (-101)

• Noah Schultz Over 4.5 Strikeouts

The 2022 first-round pick out of Oswego East High School, which is outside of the Windy City, Schultz is ranked as the No. 46 overall prospect in the sport. The White Sox hadn't taken a high school pitcher in the first round for 21 years prior to that.

At his height, Schultz will join the legendary Hall of Famer Randy Johnson and the less-legendary Eric Hillman as the tallest left-handed pitchers in MLB history. Schultz looks a tad like the Big Unit with his thin build, kinda cheesy mustache and a three-quarters release point. If you are wondering, in his MLB debut on Sept. 15, 1988 for the Expos, Johnson beat the visiting Pirates, allowing two runs with five strikeouts and three walks over five. I could see a very similar line for Schultz here.

Scouts grade MLB prospects on a scale of 20-80, but guys rarely see an 80. Schultz is given a 70 grade for his slider and 55 overall.  His fastball operates in the mid-90s and reaches 99 mph, so he can't quite throw as hard as Johnson. Schultz had a bit of a disappointing 2025 season in the minors at 4-5 with a 4.68 ERA in 17 starts across two levels. He was bothered by patellar tendinitis in his right knee off and on for much of the '25 campaign.

But the 22-year-old was great in three starts at Triple-A Charlotte this year at 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA, 0.43 WHIP (just six base-runners allowed), 19 strikeouts to just two walks and a .089 batting average against in 14.0 innings. This spring with the big club, he had a 2.08 ERA and five strikeouts in 4.1 innings spanning two outings.

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"I'm very excited about Noah," White Sox manager Will Venable said. "He's about as nice a guy and polite a guy as can be, but he does have an edge when he goes out there and pitches, which you love to see. Obviously, really dynamic with his size and how he throws and his ability to keep his body under control and repeat. His delivery is impressive. So, yeah, just overall an impressive guy."

Schultz, who is +7500 for  AL Rookie of the Year, faces a Rays team that has been one of the better offenses in the league so far with a .260 average and 70 runs scored in 15 games. By comparison, the White Sox are last in the majors with a  .193 average and 49 runs, so I'm not betting them to win or anything -- plus the Rays are starting excellent lefty Shane McClanahan on the mound, so maybe the Under 8 is worth something. The weather looks rather gross on the South Side tonight with some rain and winds, but it should be played. Chicago has gone 4-2 vs. the Rays in B2B seasons, though.

The SportsLine Projection Model forecasts Schultz for 5.1 innings pitched, 2.3 earned runs allowed, 5.7 hits (that seems high), 5.0 strikeouts and 2.2 walks. The sportsbooks are giving him an Over/Under of 14.5 outs recorded, and Over seems a decent play too (juiced at -175) as the Sox will want to let their prize prospect get a W in his debut if at all possible.

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