White Sox select Hagan Smith in the first round of the 2024 MLB draft

For all the talk about the White Sox looking for a position player with the No. 5 pick in the draft, when it was time for the rubber to hit the road, Mike Shirley chose the best pitcher available in Arkansas lefty Hagen Smith.

The No. 6 draft prospect in Sox Machine’s Top 100, Smith was named SEC Pitcher of the Year in 2024 after going 9–2 with a 2.04 ERA and 161 strikeouts against 34 walks in 84 innings for the Razorbacks. After, and he performed his. As Josh said, strikeout stuff against some of the best competition in the draft:

In 2024, Hagen Smith faced Travis Bazana, Jack Caglianone, and Braden Montgomery. All three failed against Smith and Bazana and Montgomery struck out three times each. Smith’s performance against Oregon State on February 23 was the best I have seen from any pitcher this season, striking out 17 in six innings of work. A three-quarter delivery that featured a 97 MPH four-seam fastball and a lethal slider is how Smith managed to strike out more than 48 percent of the batters he faced in 2024.

His season ended with a disappointing performance against Kansas State, as a pair of walks in the fifth inning opened the floodgates and sent the Razorbacks to the Fayetteville Regional by eight balls, but it did not sink his draft stock. He was ranked in the top 10 of every draft board, and it was there that he was selected.

The White Sox actually had plenty of reliable pitching prospect depth before drafting Smith, as he would feature in the future White Sox rotation with Noah Schultz on top 100 lists and Drew Thorpe and Jonathan Cannon, among others. This improves the White Sox’s standing in a post-Garrett Crochet world, assuming the Sox are able to turn him (and/or Eric Fedde) into the position-player talent this draft did not produce.

What is Hagen Smith’s game?

While Josh Roby came in with a Ray comp, Smith’s power fastball/slider combo from the lower left-handed slot evokes Chris Sale’s philosophy elsewhere. He sets up on the extreme first-base side of the rubber, and hides the ball to create unique angles and deceptions. He has touched 100 mph with his fastball, and between that and his slider, a third pitch is often overthinking it against collegiate hitting. That likely won’t happen in the majors, so he’s working on a splitter (which could be a split-change) to give right-handed hitters something on the other side of the plate.

Smith maintained his speed deep into games, but the Kansas State start highlighted questions about his ability to maintain his command along with it. He also had Tommy John surgery as a high school student, two major headwinds against him.

Where is Hagen Smith located?

What does Hagen Smith look like?

Any good anagrams?

He generates most of his speed from those mean thighs.

2024 MLB Draft: Top 10

Florida first baseman Jack Caglianone, the consensus White Sox draft pick according to mock drafts, is headed to the Kansas City Royals one selection later, in case you’re wondering where the first second-guessing flashpoint might arise.

1. Cleveland Patron: Travis Bazana, 2B, Oregon State
2. Cincinnati Reds: Chase Burns, RHP, Wake Forest
3. Colorado Rockies: Charlie Condon, 3B/OF, Georgia
4. Oakland Athletics: Nick Kurtz, 1B, Wake Forest
5. Chicago White Sox: Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas
6. Kansas City Royals: Jack Caglianone, 1B/LHP, Florida
7. St. Louis Cardinals: JJ Weatherholt, SS, West Virginia
8. Los Angeles Angels: Christian Moore, 2B, Tennessee
9. Pittsburgh Pirates: Connor Griffin, SS, Jackson Prep (Mississippi)
10. Washington Nationals: Sewer King, SS, Wake Forest

Hagen Smith meets Chicago media