From Rule 5 Draft To All-Star? Will Venable Thinks White Sox Pitcher Is Deserving

CHICAGO – It's not often that a Rule 5 Draft pick contributes to the major league team immediately, much less becomes an All-Star. But White Sox starter Shane Smith is on the verge of bucking that trend.

Through his first 14 career starts, Smith ranks ninth in ERA (2.85), 13th in batting average against (.217), 15th in WAR (1.5) and 20th in WHIP (1.22) among American League pitchers with at least 70 innings, per FanGraphs.

Those numbers went up after Smith's start against the Cardinals on Tuesday, when he allowed a season-high five earned runs and had his second-shortest outing of the season at 4.1 innings. Before then, Smith hadn't allowed more than three runs in a start, while posting four shutouts.

If Smith were to receive an All-Star selection, he'd become the first White Sox rookie since Jose Abreu in 2014 and the first rookie pitcher in franchise history to do so. Smith's ERA leads all MLB rookies and is the third-lowest mark since 1970 by a White Sox pitcher in his first 14 career starts.

He also has a chance to become the second player in MLB history to make the All-Star team in the year following his Rule 5 Draft selection. Dan Uggla is the only player to do so, accomplishing the feat in 2006 with the Florida Marlins.

White Sox manager Will Venable thinks Smith is a deserving representative in the 2025 All-Star game.

"Yeah, absolutely. He's done an amazing job," Venable said Thursday. "It's really been from the get-go with obviously the performance on the field. We've seen him have the changeup and the fastball he's got and obviously the stuff."

"But how he's just fit right into the clubhouse, into the program as far as game planning, the way he goes about his business in the training room. He's just been a pro through and through, and it's been really cool to see the results on the field, especially for a guy making the jump as a Rule 5 pick."