Top prospects Schultz, Smith dazzle on the mound

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The question about Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith, the top two left-handed pitching prospects in the game, per MLB Pipeline, hadn't even been completed to veteran southpaw Mart¨ªn P¨¦rez following a 3-2 loss to the Brewers Wednesday at Camelback Ranch before he responded with effusive praise.

"He's nasty, wow, unbelievable," said P¨¦rez, who allowed two runs over three innings before Schultz and Smith tossed for the White Sox. "He was on the attack. His secondary pitches, he can dominate. He's ready to fly with us to Chicago. I think he can help us a lot."

Which young pitcher was P¨¦rez talking about?

In this case, it was Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall prospect, per MLB Pipeline, but it easily could have been either. Schultz and Smith, the No. 3 White Sox prospect and No. 34 overall, upped the ante to two scoreless innings each against Milwaukee after they each hurled a scoreless inning on Feb. 26 against the Padres in their Cactus League debuts.

Neither 21-year-old had perfect command, as Schultz threw 16 of his 32 pitches for strikes, while Smith threw 12 of 24. An Eric Haase double play grounder came in between two walks for Schultz in the fourth, helping him out of trouble, while Smith was aided by a sixth-inning line drive double play off the bat of Manuel Margot.

"[Catcher Edgar Quero] called that," said a smiling Smith, who struck out one and walked two. "Good for him. I guess he knows what he's doing.

"I was flying a little open but corrected it between innings, and I'm happy," added Schultz, who threw nine of his first 12 pitches out of the zone, striking out one and walking three. "I'm confident in myself every time I go out on the mound."

Schultz topped out at 95.2 mph on his sinker, according to Statcast, which was down a bit from his 98.4 mph high mark in that first outing. But Schultz pointed out Wednesday's velocity was where he worked so effectively for most of the 2024 season with High-A Winston Salem and Double-A Birmingham.

Smith's highest velocity was 96.2 mph while recording two of his three swings and misses on the slider. He wasn't satisfied with that first outing, in part because he fell behind in the count on a couple of occasions, and that level of perfectionism bothered him again on Wednesday.

"Same thing. It's frustrating, but I got two zeros," Smith said. "That's what matters. But yeah, I just didn't feel great with command. Body felt out of whack. But, like, body felt fine. I was trying to go with more fastball command. I was kind of frustrated with that last time.

"Today, it was all right. I kind of got away from some batters, body kind of out of whack mechanics-wise. Threw a slider, that gets me back in my mechanics. Just stay through it. That helps a lot."

OPENING DAY HONORS

Manager Will Venable has yet to name the White Sox Opening Day starter among Jonathan Cannon, Davis Martin and P¨¦rez for the game against the Angels on March 27 at Rate Field. But P¨¦rez wasn't campaigning for the honor after his outing.

"It doesn't matter to me. I just want to pitch," P¨¦rez said. "I'm not here for a competition with my teammates or something like that. Whoever gets that chance for the first game, I will be happy for them and support them."