On Sunday, the Chicago White Sox gave fans another reason to be excited about the 2026 season when they announced that Shane Smith will be the Opening Day starter against his former team in Milwaukee. This is the earliest that Chicago has named their starter ahead of Opening Day since 2018, when the Sox pegged James Shields as the starter on February 27.
Smith has been one of the most exciting players and storylines to follow since Dec. 11, 2024 when the Sox selected him in the Rule 5 draft. Coming from an organization known for scouting and producing some of the best pitchers in the game, Smith showed plenty of upside as a starter and reliever. His talent immediately shone in his Sox debut and during his first month in the majors; Smith held a 2.23 ERA and racked up 26 strikeouts in his first six games.
As the spring and early summer progressed, Smith continued to dominate. He became the best pitcher in the rotation and was named the Sox’s only All-Star in July. Despite exhibiting natural bumps in his rookie year, Smith finished 2026 with the fewest earned runs (62) and home runs (17) allowed, lowest WHIP (1.196) and most innings pitched (146 ⅓) among Sox pitchers who started more than 20 games.
Fast forward six months, and Smith will be headlining a quirky starting rotation made up of returning youngsters, veteran pitchers and rookies fresh off of Tommy John surgery.
Fans willing to make the trek up to Milwaukee are bound to be treated to a memorable Opening Day. And if the Brewers give fireballing Jacob Misiorowski the bump to start the game, that’ll be even better.