Noah Schultz
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| SoxMachine.com |
Bio:
Age: 19
Height: 6'9"
Weight: 220 lbs.
Bats/Throws: Left/Left
Hometown: Naperville, Illinois
Draft Profile: 1st round, 26th pick by the Chicago White Sox
Drafted Out of: Oswego East High School (Oswego, IL)
Career Stat Line: No Professional Statistics at this time
Hailing from the suburbs of Naperville, Illinois is a mountain of a teenager: Noah Schultz. At 6'9", he absolutely towers over majority of his teammates in the clubhouse, already drawing comparisons to Hall of Famer Randy Johnson. No pressure right?
Schultz is a pitching scout's dream; a tall lefty with room to fill out, velocity in the mid-90's and one of the hardest biting sliders you'll ever see. When his stuff is on, it's arguably the best in the 2022 class. The White Sox brass considered themselves incredibly fortunate to have the hometown kid fall to them in the draft.
One of the reasons for his brief tumble down the board was due to the fact he missed most of his high school senior season with mono (Soxon35th). With COVID taking away his sophomore campaign, there wasn't a ton of tape or past production to cite when advocating to take the prep star with premium slots. He had also committed to play his collegiate ball at powerhouse Vanderbilt, which would pose yet another hurdle for prospective drafters to consider (Wikipedia).
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| Photo by: Steven Buyanksy/Shaw Media |
During summer of that same year, in an attempt to get back into form and boost his draft stock, Schultz played briefly for the wooden bat Prospect League as a member of the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp; one of the finer names I've heard for a baseball club. He made six appearances for the team, allowing just two earned runs and eight hits in 19.1 innings while posting a solid 5.3 K:BB ratio (Baseball Reference). Small sample size, but one that left observers well aware of the potential this young man possessed.
Uncertainties aside, Chicago had seen enough to feel comfortable taking the towering lefty in round one, selecting the local product with the 26th overall pick. "Noah is a rare talent, and it was a bit unexpected to us that he would be available at pick No. 26," White Sox director of amateur scouting Mike Shirley said. "We could not be more excited about his future. Noah has a huge ceiling, can anchor a rotation down the road and will be part of something very special for the White Sox. His talent and character speak loudly today, and we believe will be even louder in the future." (Chicago Sun-Times). Incredibly high praise, and expectations, to live up to.
Noah signed with the White Sox for a shade under $2.8 million and the working relationship was official. He spent February and March in Arizona as a part of Minor League Spring Training, displaying some of the dominant stuff he was so highly touted for. Veteran reliever Joe Kelly even went as far to suggest to their general manager that Schultz belonged with the big leaguers and, "already has better stuff than him." (MLB.com). And he isn't even twenty yet...
He'll begin his professional career in the desert for the ACL White Sox, but could quickly rise through the farm if he can deliver on his early hype. A left flexor strain put him on the shelf for a couple weeks, meaning he had to soak in a bit more than he participated down at spring camp, but it was a memorable experience nonetheless. Exciting prospect to keep an eye on over the next few years, expect him to be playing for Kannapolis before the season's end.
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@Choppinglines
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