A New Pitcher Is Making Waves At AA Birmingham

One of the main storylines for the White Sox this year has been the rotation in Birmingham, as they started out the season on a tear. The rotation featured main pieces in the Dylan Cease trade, Drew Thorpe and Jairo Iriarte, as well as other top pitching prospects in the system, Ky Bush, Mason Adams, and Jake Eder.

After a few months into the season, all but one pitcher had an ERA under 3.00, as the rotation was dominating the competition on a nightly basis. The White Sox then decided to make it even more unfair for opposing teams, as they promoted top pitching prospect Noah Schultz to AA, where he continues to pitch extremely well, strengthening the rotation even more.

But, when Drew Thorpe got the call to the big leagues, a spot opened up in the rotation. Many wondered who they would call up to fill the hole left by Thorpe, as it wasn’t likely anyone was going to replicate Thorpe’s production this season. However, the man they called up has filled Thorpe’s shoes admirably and has been pitching just as well as Thorpe was, elevating this pitching prospect’s stock.

This prospect is none other than Tyler Schweitzer, a 5th round pick out of Ball State in the 2022 draft. He may not be a familiar name among White Sox fans, but he should soon be on their radar, as since he joined Birmingham, he has absolutely dominated.

So far in three starts, he has pitched 19 innings, giving up just four runs, good for a 1.89 ERA. He has struck out 21 batters, has a .74 WHIP, and hitters are only hitting .194 against him. If that isn’t good enough for you, he’s only walked two batters so far. For his first taste of AA, this is a very dominating start.

This may not come as a surprise if you have been following Schweitzer, as he has been very productive in his short minor league career thus far, as in 2023, he had a 3.94 ERA between low and high A for his first taste of professional baseball.

He currently does not rank on the White Sox top 30 prospect list on MLB Pipeline, however, he should join the list when they update at midseason, as he is having a phenomenal season.

Schweitzer consistently pounds the strike zone, making hitters put the ball in play, which is a very good trait to have. He still can get the strikeout when he needs it, as in 172 minor league innings, he has 189 strikeouts, which is good for a 9.89 K/9. This is very encouraging as a lefty starter, as that is an above average number.

Schweitzer has continued the trend of White Sox pitching prospects having phenomenal seasons. Unfortunately for him, there are a few pitching prospects ahead of him to get a call up, so he will have to continue to pitch well to hop over them.

Since Schweitzer is 23 and was a college arm, he is on a quicker path to the majors than the high school arms, so we could see him sooner rather than later if he keeps this up. It all depends on how the White Sox view him with all the other dominant arms in the minor leagues, as there are only five starting spots in the major leagues.

This is a great problem to have if you are the White Sox, as you want as many of your prospects to be pitching like Schweitzer as possible. Keep an eye out on the midseason prospect lists, as he will rank in the top half of those lists when they are released.