25-year-old LHP Tyler Schweitzer gets his first MLB opportunity as the Chicago White Sox search for answers on the pitching staff.
Shane Smith has been sent to Triple-A Charlotte after a brutal start to the 2026 regular season. In a corresponding move on Wednesday morning, the Chicago White Sox selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Tyler Schweitzer from Charlotte.
Schweitzer, a 25-year-old and former fifth-round pick out of Ball State, is set to make his MLB debut this week and should help stabilize a struggling White Sox bullpen by eating innings. He’s currently ranked the No. 23 prospect in the organization.
Early in his professional career, Schweitzer showed signs of being a promising starting pitcher, but the White Sox transitioned him into a bullpen role in 2025. That move initially paid off. He opened the season 6-0 with a 1.27 ERA across 49.2 innings in Double-A Birmingham before earning a promotion to Triple-A Charlotte.
That’s where things got more difficult. Schweitzer posted a 7.92 ERA over 50 innings in Charlotte, a jump that highlights the gap in competition and hitting environments between Double-A and Triple-A.
Schweitzer’s fastball has ticked up, now topping out around 98 mph, and his changeup is a reliable weapon. His two breaking pitches are both works in progress, and during his first stint in Triple-A, the changeup was really the only pitch that generated consistent results — which was likely as much about location as pure stuff.
To start the 2026 season, Schweitzer has shown improvement. In five innings, he’s allowed just one run on five hits while striking out four, a small but encouraging sample that suggests he may have made some adjustments. He also turned in a solid showing during big league spring training, posting a 3.86 ERA across five appearances.
Now he gets his opportunity, due in large part to Smith managing just 8.2 innings across his first three starts.
The big question here is whether the White Sox are giving Schweitzer a real opportunity to prove he belongs at the big league level, or if this is simply a temporary move to cover innings before sending him back down regardless of how he performs.
He may not care either way. At 25 years old, after some struggles in Triple-A, just getting the call and making his MLB debut is a dream come true. This is a good starting point for Schweitzer.
But we’ve already seen the White Sox cycle through and move on from pitchers like Tyler Gilbert, and now there are four left-handed relievers on Chicago’s active roster. That raises some questions about roster balance and long-term plans.
The White Sox also don’t currently have a clear fifth starter, unless the plan is for Schweitzer to take over Smith’s spot in the rotation — which would be a significant shift given his recent move to the bullpen.
So there are a few things to watch. If Schweitzer performs well over the next few days before Smith’s turn in the rotation comes back around, do the White Sox keep him up? Or was this always meant to be a short-term stopgap with a starting pitcher taking his place before long?