Shane Smith Deserved Better Than This

Shane Smith’s rookie season is one Chicago White Sox fans will not soon forget. 

The 25-year-old (24 at the time of his MLB debut in April) had a breakout campaign that not only put him on the map as a legitimate big-league starter, but also reframed the entire rebuild on the South Side.

Smith already has a case as the best Rule 5 selection of the past decade considering what he did this season and what he could lay ahead with the White Sox. Chicago has club control of Smith through the 2030 season. 

His rookie year was capped with a trip to the 2025 MLB All-Star Game as Chicago’s lone representative — making him the first rookie pitcher ever selected in the Rule 5 Draft to earn an All-Star nod. That distinction alone cements his place in the White Sox record books.

Smith also broke the franchise record for strikeouts by a first-year pitcher, finishing with 145.

With a 7–8 record, 3.81 ERA, 145 strikeouts over 146.1 innings, and a 2.4 bWAR, Smith deserves some consideration for AL Rookie of the Year — even if he won’t win it. He might not even be the best rookie on the White Sox. But Baseball America leaving Smith off the 2025 All-Rookie Team? That’s straight-up wrong.

Five starting pitchers made the cut, yet Smith somehow didn’t. Instead, Yankees right-hander Will Warren was included — and that’s where things go off the rails.

Shane Smith snubbed from Baseball America's All-Rookie Team

Noah Cameron (Royals), Cade Horton (Cubs), Chad Patrick (Brewers), Cam Schlittler (Yankees), and Warren rounded out the rotation. Cameron and Horton are no-brainers, and Schlittler, despite a smaller sample size, is deserving. You could even make a fair argument between Smith and Patrick — their ERAs are close (3.53 vs. 3.81), though Patrick had a higher WHIP (1.28), fewer innings, and less WAR. A reasonable debate.

But Will Warren? He doesn’t even belong in the conversation.

Warren posted a 4.44 ERA, a below-average 92 ERA+, and just 0.6 WAR in 2025. Smith’s 3.81 ERA, 110 ERA+, and 2.4 WAR aren’t even in the same ballpark. The difference in strikeout and walk rates is negligible — but the overall production isn’t.

And let’s not ignore this: Warren pitched in six MLB games back in 2024, posting a 10.32 ERA. Through his first 39 career appearances, his combined ERA sits at 5.16 with negative WAR. Yet somehow, that résumé earned him a spot over an All-Star from Chicago.

Bias at its finest. Because Warren wears Yankee pinstripes and plays for a playoff team, he gets the national shine. But all the wins and bright lights in the world don’t change the facts: Shane Smith is simply the better pitcher.

And if you need more evidence, look no further than the ALDS — where Warren just got shelled for six runs by the Blue Jays. Justice served.

Shane Smith came out of nowhere and gave the White Sox a front-end starter with six-plus years of team control. There aren’t enough words to describe the value that has to an organization.

He’s likely to be Chicago’s Opening Day starter in 2026 — and if there’s one thing he’s proven already, it’s that he’ll keep making people regret doubting him.