White Sox right-hander Jesse Scholtens is set to begin a rehab assignment in Winston-Salem on Tuesday night.
The 30-year-old right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery on March 1st, forcing him to miss the entire 2024 season. The recovery time for Tommy John surgery varies by pitcher, but it typically lasts 12 to 18 months. He was transferred to the 60-day IL in February, which gave the team extra flexibility with the 40-man roster.
Scholtens posted a 5.29 ERA during his lone MLB season with the White Sox in 2023. He appeared in 26 games that year, including 11 starts under then-manager Pedro Grifol. As a starter, he went 0–6 with a 5.87 ERA and 38 strikeouts. In relief, he fared slightly better, recording a 1–3 record with a 4.31 ERA, 20 strikeouts, and one save.
If he can work his way back to the big league roster, Scholtens’s role on the team is going to be as an innings-eater, especially given the injury to Martin Perez. While Scoltens doesn’t figure to get many starts in the rotation, he is an ideal candidate for a long reliever. He strung together four consecutive seasons of making 20-plus starts in the minor leagues.
Scholtens hasn’t had much of a sample size in the MLB with just 85 career innings under his belt. The right-hander has certainly shown flashes of potential. In 2021, he became the first right-hander in El Paso Chihuahuas history—the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate—to record over 100 strikeouts while maintaining a strikeout rate above 9.0 per nine innings.
