White Sox Prospect Makes History in MLB Debut

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White Sox Prospect Makes History in MLB Debut

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ezra Lombardi | Last updated May 28, 2026 12:29 PM ET

Chicago White Sox pitcher David Sandlin's MLB debut got off to about as bad of a start as he could have imagined.

On just his second pitch, Minnesota Twins slugger Byron Buxton welcomed him to The Show by taking him deep to center field with a leadoff solo shot. But after that, to say Sandlin settled in would be an understatement.

Chicago's No. 18 ranked prospect retired the next 18 batters he saw, finishing the night with just the one hit and one earned run over 6.0 innings. Sandlin threw 41 strikes on 61 pitches, did not walk a single batter, and racked up four strikeouts. He punctuated the outing by forcing Buxton to pop out and letting his emotions out as he walked off the mound to a standing ovation at Rate Field.

Sandlin's masterful big-league debut was one of the best in franchise history, as he became the first White Sox pitcher to retire 18 straight batters in a debut at least over the last 100 years according to Sarah Langs. His 10.2 pitches per inning were the fewest for any pitcher making their MLB debut since it was first tracked in 1988.

David Sandlin’s 18 straight retired batters are the most by a White Sox pitcher who was making his debut over at least the last 100 years

h/t @EliasSports https://t.co/oATNYXsrUY
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) May 28, 2026

The 25-year-old spoke after the game about how allowing the leadoff home run actually alleviated some of the pressure of his first start and helped him settle in for the rest of the outing.

“I feel like that took the weight off almost,” Sandlin said via The Minnesota Star Tribune. “I was like, ‘Man it can’t get worse than that.’ Like, let’s go now.”

This response was seemingly immediate for Sandlin, who got his first major league strikeout against the next batter he faced in Brooks Lee and finished the inning with another punchout of Josh Bell.

David Sandlin’s second MLB strikeout comes against Josh Bell to end the first inning pic.twitter.com/MSEW5n6SNr
— Matthew Crory (@matthewcrory) May 27, 2026

Sandlin came over to Chicago as a piece in Boston's salary dump of veteran reliever Jordan Hicks. The Red Sox acquired right-hander Gage Ziehl, who currently holds a 5.94 ERA across seven starts in Double-A.

Sandlin, on the other hand, performed extremely well in the minor leagues before getting his call up earlier this week. After a back injury delayed his start to the season, the right-hander was nearly perfect over six starts between High-A and Triple-A, allowing just one run over 16.1 innings (0.55 ERA) with 26 Ks.

The rookie has found success with his four-seam fastball, which can touch 100 mph but has sat around 97 mph this year. By pounding the zone with the fastball and generating weak contact with his off-speed, Sandlin was a handful for the Twins batters who have given trouble to good pitching this season. If he can replicate this success, the White Sox will be looking at an exciting young arm to support their surging bats.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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