After news broke that Martin Perez would miss a significant part, if not all, of the 2025 season, the White Sox pivoted to Bryse Wilson to cover Perez’s starts. This was a significant blow to the rotation, as not only was Perez pitching very well, but he could have gotten the White Sox a decent prospect if he kept it up, as a contending team can always use a reliable veteran in their rotation.
However, after a few Bryse Wilson starts, the White Sox went in another direction, signing free agent pitcher Adrian Houser to a one-year deal. Houser was thrust right into the fire, as he started the game the same day his deal with the team was announced.
In that game against the Seattle Mariners, Houser threw six scoreless innings, allowing two hits while walking three. This was very impressive, as this was Houser’s first start in the major leagues this season and it was against a playoff-caliber team.
Adrian Houser’s White Sox debut:
6 IP
2 H
0 ER
3 BB
2 KChicago signed him TODAY🤯 pic.twitter.com/ASEwqy6LDW
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) May 21, 2025
One-week later Houser was tasked with facing the New York Mets. Houser again pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and one walk, while striking out six batters. For just his second start in the MLB this season, this is very impressive, as the Mets are also a playoff team.
6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
9 swing & misses
ADRIAN HOUSER IS THAT GUY.pic.twitter.com/U6MLiz1hgl
— Mike (@ChiSoxFanMike) May 26, 2025
When Houser was signed, I don’t know that anyone expected him to start off his White Sox tenure with 12 scoreless innings, but here we are. While he gave the White Sox a chance to win in both of his outings and now a good chance to win in upcoming games, he also offers the team something else, something that could help define their future.
While it is extremely unlikely that Houser continues this scoreless innings streak forever, if he continues to give the White Sox quality starts for the next month or two he could net them a very good prospect at the trade deadline, as quality starting pitching is at a premium.
Houser has had a pretty solid MLB career to this point, as he has a 4.13 ERA over 600+ career innings. This, combined with a solid few months in 2025 with the White Sox could net the team a decent reliever prospect or a lottery ticket on a bat in a trade for Houser. However, if a team is interested in another player on the White Sox, the combination of Houser and that other player could potentially net the White Sox a much better prospect.
There is still plenty of time left before the trade deadline so Houser’s value could continue to climb or it could tank with a few bad outings, but if he continues to pitch around a 3 ERA and eats a ton of innings, he could fetch the White Sox a top-10 prospect from a contender. If you are combining Houser with other players, perhaps you could sneak into top-5 prospect territory or even a top-100 prospect depending on who the other player is.
Signing Houser has worked out beautifully for the White Sox hopefully it can net them another player that can help them compete in the future.
