WASHINGTON — Chicago White Sox prospect Noah Schultz felt his 2025 was filled with ups and downs.
“There are a lot of things you can look at, but I definitely think there are a lot of good things that I was happy I had to work through,” the left-hander said during a videoconference call Thursday. “There were a lot of things I was kind of adapting to. Just challenging myself every single week.
“The plan was to learn and grow as a player, and that’s the only way you can do that.”
Schultz, 22, learned from outings such as on May 24, when he limited Pensacola to one hit over five innings for Double-A Birmingham. Schultz had similar success June 7 against Rocket City, allowing just one hit in 5 2/3 innings while striking out seven during his final start for the Barons.
A promotion to Triple A followed. And while the lefty surrendered six runs in his first outing for the Charlotte Knights on June 19, he took a lot away from the start.
“Some games I didn’t give up many hits or runs, but there were a couple of walks and then vice versa,” Schultz said. “But being able to piece together stuff like that and being able to point out what made those specific outings successful for the future is something that’s important to know and (being) able to combine them all ultimately to become the best version of myself.”
The 2022 first-round pick out of Oswego East went 4-5 with a 4.68 ERA over 17 starts for Birmingham and Charlotte. He made 12 starts for the Barons and five for the Knights before landing on the injured list on Sept. 4 with patellar tendinitis in his right knee.
“It’s been something I’ve been dealing with all year,” Schultz said. “It would have times where it would flare up and then go down. The training staffs in Double A and Triple A were great with it, great with helping me get out on the field and compete as often as I could.
“It was really important even for me to get through some of that stuff. But at the end of the year, we figured for the long run, it wasn’t worth playing through it. It’s feeling good. Got (physical therapy) going, excited to have a healthy offseason and get to spring training.”
Schultz, ranked the No. 2 prospect in the Sox system according to MLB.com, was confident the knee wouldn’t affect his offseason work. He knows he’s one step away from that big-league opportunity.
“That’s always something that is in the back of your mind,” Schultz said. “That’s always the end goal is to be a major-league player. If you have that too much in your sights, you get distracted from working out every day and getting better. It’s something that every player has in their mind, and that’s always a goal going into spring training, going into any part of the year.
“People, and me personally, always think of that. But I try not to. I just want to go out and compete and become the best version of myself I can this offseason and in spring training.”
Honor roll
Shortstop Caleb Bonemer, a second-round pick in 2024, recently was named the Carolina League Most Valuable Player for Class A Kannapolis.
Bonemer, 19, slashed .281/.400/.458 with 26 doubles, three triples, 10 home runs, 58 RBIs and 69 runs in 96 games with the Cannon Ballers. He ranked first in the Carolina League in on-base percentage, slugging, OPS (.858) and doubles, was third in batting average, fourth in walks (68), fifth in runs, seventh in RBIs, tied for seventh in home runs and tied for 10th in hits (98).
“It’s pretty cool to see that when you put in a lot of work,” Bonemer said during a videoconference call Thursday. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do is play pro ball. So to be able to accomplish some things like that this year, it definitely makes you feel good.
“But also, I’ve got to remember that I’ve got to do it again next year. And it is only low-A. Not to say it doesn’t really matter, but nobody really remembers your low-A MVP. I just look forward to next year. Hopefully I can put together another solid year and keep going from there. It feels good, but I’m looking forward to more to come.”
MLB.com ranks Bonemer as the No. 4 prospect in the Sox organization.
Birmingham wins Southern League championship
Birmingham defeated Montgomery 6-3 on Thursday to capture its second straight Southern League title. The Barons won the Southern League Championship Series 2-1. They lost Game 1 but won the next two.
Hagen Smith, a 2024 first-round pick who is the No. 5-rated prospect in the Sox system, allowed two runs and struck out six in four-plus innings in Game 3. The game was suspended Wednesday in the fifth inning and concluded Thursday.
“These guys are going to be the wave of kids that come up and help us,” Sox manager Will Venable said Thursday. “It’s a win for all of us and really nice to point to another group that is contributing to helping us push this thing to where we want it to be.”