Southpaw prospect Smith will be ready for MLB 'whenever I get the call'

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Whenever Hagen Smith gets asked about being Major League ready, the No. 34 overall prospect, per MLB Pipeline, smiles and offers a familiar refrain.

¡°I just say the same thing,¡± Smith told MLB.com. ¡°Whenever I get the call is when I¡¯m ready, I guess.¡±

There¡¯s a natural curiosity around Noah Schultz (No. 16 overall) and Smith, the top two left-handed pitching prospects in the game because ¡­ well, they are the top two left-handed pitching prospects in the game. Smith has three years of college behind him at Arkansas, and if he was pitching for a Dodgers team across Camelback Ranch from the White Sox, as an example, he might be added on to contribute immediately.

In the case of the South Siders, who are in Year 2 of this current rebuild, there¡¯s no reason to rush either Schultz or Smith. Both southpaws will be on the mound Wednesday at Camelback Ranch during split-squad action against the Brewers, which could be their last Cactus League action on the big league side.

Smith and Schultz threw scoreless innings in relief on Feb. 26, with Smith striking out the side.

¡°It was super fun,¡± Smith said. ¡°That was the first time I¡¯ve been on that field. Just to go out there and throw was really relaxing, actually. Finally, actually, throwing out there. Instead of watching games on TV or watching them here. Just throwing on the field was cool.¡±

There has been an adjustment from college life to professional life for Smith, despite making three starts for High-A Winston-Salem late last season. But it¡¯s nothing drastic enough to make him miss the college days.

¡°Practice every day, doing everything every single day, but it¡¯s been good,¡± said Smith of the transition. ¡°It¡¯s like college, you get off-days on the weekend. Here, it is every day. Definitely lighter days but still even in college, it¡¯s straight off.

¡°It¡¯s being able to pitch every single time now rather than just throw. It¡¯s just every single year trying to get better at it. Sequencing, reading hitters, everything that comes along with it.¡±

Burke eyes the rotation
Sean Burke threw three innings and 54 pitches during Monday¡¯s contest against the Athletics at Camelback Ranch. He allowed a two-run home run to Jacob Wilson in the first, but otherwise continued to state his rotation case, which began at the end of the 2024 season when he posted a 1.42 ERA over four games (three starts).

¡°I believe I should be there and I believe I¡¯m good enough to be there,¡± Burke said. ¡°But it¡¯s something I try not to worry too much about. I¡¯m just trying to go out here and keep building, keep improving on things I need to work on. That¡¯s my focus right now.¡±

Berroa plays waiting game
New imaging will be taken this week on reliever Prelander Berroa, who has been dealing with a right elbow strain since his first and only Cactus League outing on Feb. 22 against the Cubs. Berroa, through interpreter Billy Russo, said it felt as if his elbow shrunk or something pulled up from the elbow on that fateful pitch.

¡°I feel a little better [now] because the day that it happened, I was in a lot of pain,¡± Berroa said. ¡°But I definitely feel a little better. We¡¯ll see how the new imaging is going to reveal if I¡¯m healed or not. Then we¡¯ll go from there.¡±

Berroa¡¯s injury came when he was in line this season for late-inning leverage relief work after a strong finish to the ¡®24 season.

¡°Last year, I didn¡¯t have a good start in Triple-A. It was kind of slow,¡± Berroa said. ¡°But once they promoted me to the Majors, I was good and I learned a lot.

¡°You¡¯ve got to attack the batters. Throw a lot of strikes because that¡¯s the only way you can be effective and the only way you can get batters out. I learned that and I was able to execute it.¡±

Third to first
? Tuesday marks the first scheduled off-day for the White Sox.

? The last time reliever Steven Wilson gave up a run in Spring Training was in 2023. Since then, the righty has a 12-inning scoreless streak -- nine innings last season and three so far this spring -- with 18 strikeouts over that span.