GLENDALE, Ariz. — Chicago White Sox prospect Noah Schultz threw a changeup to begin an eighth-inning at-bat Friday against Jesús Made, which the Milwaukee Brewers second baseman fouled off.
Schultz missed high with a 96.2-mph fastball. His next pitch was a slider for a called strike. He went with the pitch again, getting Made — the No. 3 prospect in baseball according to MLB.com — to swing and miss for a strikeout.
It was the final of three strikeouts in the outing for Schultz, who pitched the seventh and eighth innings of the split-squad game at American Family Fields of Phoenix. Schultz allowed one run and three hits during his first appearance of the spring.
“Really happy with how it went,” Schultz said on Saturday morning at Camelback Ranch. “First couple of hitters, I was warming up to it. But then settled in and really happy with the results.”
Photos: Chicago White Sox on photo day at spring training
Schultz and fellow pitching prospects Tanner McDougal and Hagen Smith continue to make progress as they gear up for the upcoming season, which might include big-league debuts at some point down the line.
“Excited to keep building and getting ready for a season,” Schultz said.
McDougal displayed a blazing fastball while pitching the fourth, fifth and sixth innings Friday against the Brewers. Smith had a live bullpen session Saturday, averaging 97.2 mph on his 15 fastballs.
“I feel good, the body feels really good right now,” Smith told the Tribune on Saturday morning, before the live BP. “The stuff feels good. Just trying to go out there and keep doing my thing.”
MLB.com ranks Smith as the No. 72 prospect in baseball. Schultz, who is No. 49, concentrated on his changeup Friday.
“(I) want to increase the usage and keep the hitters guessing,” Schultz said. “(It) felt good, really confident with it. I think a lot of times counts when I would normally throw a slider, it was good to throw hitters off. Got to keep them on their toes.”
Schultz, 22, pitched at Double A and Triple A last year, combining to go 4-5 with a 4.68 ERA in 17 starts. The lefty, who went to Oswego East, had 76 strikeouts in 73 innings.
Smith, 22, went 3-3 with a 3.57 ERA in 20 starts for Double-A Birmingham last season. The left-hander had 108 strikeouts and 56 walks in 75 2/3 innings. He also pitched in the Arizona Fall League, which has been factored into his ramp-up this spring.
This portion of camp, Smith has been focused on getting back in “compete mode.”
“The offseason is fun, but there’s not a lot of competing, so try to build up that competing aspect of it,” Smith said.
White Sox pitching prospect Tanner McDougal warms up for the ninth inning of a Cactus League game against the Brewers at Camelback Ranch on Feb. 22, 2026, in Glendale, Arizona. (Jeremy Chen/Getty)
Schultz and Smith are in camp as nonroster invitees. The Sox added McDougal, 22, to their 40-man roster in the offseason.
Friday marked his second outing this spring. He allowed two runs on four hits with three strikeouts — including Made — in three innings. McDougal had four pitches reach at least 100 mph in the outing and a couple more at 99.9 mph.
“I was in zone a lot, kind of what I’ve been working for,” McDougal said Saturday morning. “They’ve got a good lineup, a lot of good hitters. It was a good day. Kind of good to face some adversity while pitching. Other than that, felt great.”
McDougal has a 3.60 ERA in his two spring appearances, allowing two runs on five hits with five strikeouts and no walks in five innings.
“I think the first outing was good, but I felt that the fastball in-zone rate wasn’t great,” McDougal said. “So yesterday, I was just trying to throw as many fastballs in the zone as possible. Probably threw one or two too many fastballs to certain hitters, but that’s part of it. That’s spring. It’s time to work on stuff, the results are the results, and I didn’t think it was a bad day — obviously gave up two runs — but I didn’t walk anybody.
“That’s kind of my biggest thing, don’t walk people.”
McDougal looks to build off a 2025 where he went a combined 3-5 with a 3.26 ERA, 136 strikeouts and 49 walks in 113 1/3 innings over 28 starts between High Class A Winston-Salem and Birmingham.
“I think it’s great to be around these guys,” he said. “Watching them play catch, watching them go about their work, watching them throw bullpens, how they go about the weight room. It’s a great thing to be around guys like that, vets. Kind of been around (Erick) Fedde a lot, it’s been nice to get his insight on things. Being from Vegas, we have that connection.
“It’s good to be around guys like that who have been around it and done it. I’m just trying to take it all in, trying to be a sponge, and just learn as much as I can from all these guys.”