Noah Schultz

Unfortunately, we didn't learn much about Schultz in 2024, despite the fact he was healthy all season. He never threw more than four innings or 67 pitches in a start, so he never got to face a batter a third time. The 6-foot-9 southpaw logged 89.1 innings across High-A and Double-A after logging 27 innings and averaging fewer than three innings per start at Single-A in 2023. His fastball/slider combo is elite, and same-handed batters registered a .449 OPS against him. Schultz's decent changeup is a clear third pitch, and righties did a bit better against him with a .588 OPS, so refining that changeup while building his workload will be the points of emphasis going forward. Despite Chicago's delicate handling of Schultz last year, he should be assigned to Triple-A for his age-21 season after putting up a 1.48 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 58.5 percent groundball rate in 61 innings at Double-A. He may generate buzz early in spring training if he gets to pitch in big-league camp.