White Sox Call Up Top Pitching Prospects Hagen Smith and Tanner McDougal
· Yahoo Sports
The Chicago White Sox are in the middle of a rough patch, having lost four games in a row following the trade deadline as the AL Central race continues to tighten.
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After Friday night's loss to the Cleveland Guardians, Chicago's lead is down to just 2.0 games over both Cleveland and the Minnesota Twins. The Detroit Tigers are 3.5 games back and aren't out of the race either.
It's becoming increasingly clear that the White Sox need help on the pitching side of things. There have been questions all season about how much stamina Chicago's starting pitchers have. The rotation's inability to pitch deep into ballgames, combined with a 13-inning loss to the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night, has left the bullpen depleted and the pitching staff searching for answers. To find those answers, the White Sox are turning to their top two pitching prospects.
As first reported by Ian Eskridge of FutureSox, the White Sox are calling up right-handed pitcher Tanner McDougal and left-handed pitcher Hagen Smith on Saturday. Both players are set to make their MLB debuts.
Sources are telling @FutureSox that the White Sox are calling up RHP Tanner McDougal and LHP Hagen Smith.
— Ian Eskridge (@dailywhitesox) August 8, 2026
David Sandlin is likely to be optioned back to Triple-A Charlotte in a corresponding move after handling the bulk of the innings for the White Sox on Friday night. But the White Sox will need to clear two spots on the active roster and one spot on the 40-man roster to bring up both of their top pitching prospects.
This is a plan that has been in the works for quite a while. The White Sox have converted both Smith and McDougal to relief roles in Triple-A Charlotte. While the organization still plans to use them as starting pitchers long term, both could prove valuable to the White Sox bullpen for the remainder of the 2026 season while simultaneously gaining valuable experience in the big leagues.
Smith has a 4.32 ERA over 58.1 innings with Triple-A Charlotte this season. But the real intrigue comes from his last five appearances out of the bullpen, during which he has thrown 5.1 scoreless innings while allowing just one hit and one walk with eight strikeouts.
McDougal has a 2.86 ERA over 34.2 innings with Triple-A Charlotte this season. Since returning from the IL on July 7, McDougal has thrown 10.2 innings out of the bullpen with a 2.53 ERA and 13 strikeouts. That stretch includes multiple outings in which he worked more than one inning, which is likely something the White Sox will ask him to do on occasion.
It's a no-brainer decision for the White Sox and the ultimate win-win. You get reinforcements at the MLB level, give valuable experience to young pitchers who are ready to contribute in the big leagues, and help alleviate some of the pressure on younger arms that are beginning to run out of gas.
Smith is the No. 2 prospect in the White Sox organization and currently the No. 51 overall prospect on MLB Pipeline, while McDougal ranks No. 4 in Chicago's system and sits just outside the top 100.