White Sox have a pretty stacked farm system to this point, as by midseason, they should be considered a top-5 system in baseball. This rise is due to the existing top level talent, but also due to some lesser-known prospects playing themselves on to the radar of the organization.
As we sit about a month into the season, we continue our top prospect list, getting to know some of the depth in the organization. We started with our 20th ranked prospect, making our way to the best prospect in the system. We unveiled our 5th ranked prospect, Tanner McDougal, in our last article. Here, we cover our 4th ranked prospect, Hagen Smith.
Smith was taken with the 5th overall pick back in the 2024 draft, as he was the first draft pick made by general manager Chris Getz.
Smith had an outstanding career with the Arkansas Razorbacks, as he was a regular starter for three seasons. His best year came in 2024, where he had a 2.04 ERA over 84 innings. However, it is more than just the ERA that was impressive, as he had a .89 WHIP and an absolutely insane 17.3 K/9 ratio. Those are video game numbers.
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After being drafted, Smith found his way to the Winston-Salem Dash, the High-A affiliate of the White Sox. He would go on to throw 7.2 innings of 3.52 ERA baseball, striking out 7 batters. This led him to starting the 2025 season with the Birmingham Barons.
In 75 innings with the Barons, Smith had a 3.57 ERA, striking out 108 batters. Again, Smith put up some impressive strikeout numbers, as he had a 12.8 K/9 ratio. However, Smith lost his command, as he walked 56 batters. This led to him spending some time working on his mechanics at the Arizona Complex League. He then followed that up with a solid performance in the Arizona Fall League, as he had a 2.57 ERA over 14 innings, striking out 21 batters while just walking 6.
This season, Smith has thrown 19 innings for the Charlotte Knights, striking out 29 batters to go with a 2.33 ERA. Unfortunately, these 19 innings are over six starts, which means he averages just a little over three innings a start.
Hagen Smith racks up 6 strikeouts in his latest @KnightsBaseball start — 5 vs. hitters with MLB service time 👀
The @whitesox 2024 first-rounder has a 2.33 ERA and 13.5 K/9 across six Triple-A outings: pic.twitter.com/C0RLYR6Awd
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 28, 2026
This has been one of the more interesting storylines to follow, as they seem to pull Smith after three or four innings. While his control hasn’t been great, it’s not like they’re pulling him after 100 pitches in the 4th. He seems to be on a very strict pitch count.
If they can work Smith up to a starter workload, he could become the best pitcher on the White Sox. He has untouchable stuff, he just needs to work on being more consistent in commanding the zone. If he does that, watch out.
At this point, it may be advantageous to give him a shot in the big leagues, especially if they are going to have him only pitch 4 innings, as he could be an opener or a long reliever and really help out the pitching staff.
