April 4th, 2025 - Lucas Gray
The defending Southern League champion Birmingham Barons return to action on Friday night, and with a roster packed with top White Sox prospects, they should contend for another pennant in 2025.
While catcher Edgar Quero and shortstop Colson Montgomery have graduated to Triple-A affiliate Charlotte, the Barons still have plenty of future MLB talent on their roster.
Let’s look at some of the names to watch in 2025:
LHP Noah Schultz
Left-handed pitcher Noah Schultz was drafted by the White Sox 26th overall in 2022, and due to his massive 6-foot-10 frame, they’ve taken the slow track on his development.
Injuries held him to just 10 starts in 2023, but in his first full pro season at 21 years old, Schultz dominated the minor leagues in 2024. After seven starts with the White Sox High-A affiliate Winston Salem, in which he posted a 3.95 earned run average, Schultz was called up to Birmingham where he ranked fifth among Double-A pitchers with at least 50 innings with a 1.85 ERA.
The season led to him being recognized as the 15th overall prospect in MLB, and the 1st overall left-handed pitching prospect in the game on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100.
Upon making his MLB debut, he’ll be tied for the 2nd tallest player in league history, sharing second place with Hall of Famer Randy Johnson and a handful of others. Like Johnson, Schultz’ feature pitch is his fastball which averaged 95.3 mph in Birmingham, per Synergy Sports.
2B Rikuu Nishida
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum from Schultz, 5-foot-6 second baseman Rikuu Nishida would be one of the shortest players in MLB history should he make it to the big leagues.
He’s a player that doesn’t appear on any top prospect lists and was drafted out of Oregon in the 11th round (329th overall) in 2023 but has defied all expectations so far in his pro career.
The lack of size and power at the plateare legitimate knocks against Nishida as a pro prospect, but he makes up for it with an extremely unique skillset. He was named the 2024 White Sox Organization Baserunner of the Year after stealing 49 bases. He also hit .304 at the plate with some of the best bat control in the minors and is a stellar defender in the infield.
The Osaka, Japan native shot up through the White Sox farm last season. He shot through both their Low and High-A teams and played the last 11 games of the season in Birmingham.
LHP Hagen Smith
The other half of Birmingham’s duo of top-ranked lefties is Hagen Smith, who was the fifth overall pick in last year’s MLB Draft out of Arkansas.
After Schultz, Smith is the 2nd ranked lefty in the minors on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 at 33rd overall. He’s only pitched in three pro games with High-A Winston Salem, where he posted a 3.52 ERA. Heading straight to Birmingham after three games is a testament to how polished of a prospect Smith is.
At Arkansas, he led Division I in strikeouts per nine innings, with 161 in 84 innings pitched. He, like Schultz also features a killer fastball, but his best pitch is his slider.
Smith’s funky delivery is another problem for batters. His combination of a low release point and rising action on pitches is a massive contributor to his strikeout rate.
The Barons kick off their title-defense season on Friday night at Regions Field against the Knoxville Smokies at 7 p.m.