White Sox Prospect Tanner McDougal Eyes MLB Debut

Tanner McDougal was one of two White Sox pitching prospects recently added to the 40-man roster, along with Duncan Davitt, thus protecting them from being picked in the Rule 5 Draft.

It would have been a surprise had McDougal not been added, given his successful 2025 Double-A season. But that didn't diminish his emotions leading up to a pivotal moment in his career.

"I definitely was antsy, you know, but I was just hoping for the best," McDougal said. "Whatever happened, happened. But yeah, obviously it was awesome getting the call and being able to mark off one of those goals that I kind of set out for myself last year. But you know, it was awesome to be honest with you."

McDougal is just one year removed from a stretch that had him questioning everything. The 6-foot-5 right-hander posted a 6.04 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP across 92.1 innings during the 2024 season at Single-A and High-A. He admittedly lost some confidence that season and wondered if he'd return to top form after missing the entire 2022 season due to Tommy John Surgery.

"The worst part about not pitching well in 2024 and stuff like that was I knew I was better than what I was putting on the field," McDougal said. "I just didn't know where to turn and where to go to. But we worked through it within the org and stuff like that and figured out what we needed to do to get over the plate some more and be more effective and that's what we did. That just is another testimony to how well we're doing with developing and stuff like that within the minor league system and the org as itself."

His confidence returned in 2025, when McDougal helped the Double-A Birmingham Barons win a second straight Southern League championship. Across 15 starts, he recorded a 3.23 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP with 63 strikeouts and 17 walks in 55.2 innings.

That reinforced to McDougal that he's where he belongs and capable of success, with an MLB debut looking realistic in 2026.

"My goal was just to get back to throwing strikes and getting outs, kind of redefine myself, re-prove myself," McDougal said. "Obviously after the year I had in 2024, I was kind of on the outs on myself just a little bit, just because it's frustrating when you're not doing what you feel like you're capable of doing."

"I just came in trying to prove to myself that you're good enough, you can do this, stuff like that. Kind of just reinforcing myself and obviously everything else that came with it came with it and that was great. But yeah, I just kind of came into the season trying to get back to having fun and just getting after it, getting after hitters."

Beyond his individual accolades, McDougal said creating a winning culture in the minor leagues can create a winning culture in the big leagues. Ranked No. 7 among White Sox prospects by MLB.com, he's part of an up-and-coming group trying to restore success on the South Side.

Pitching in the playoffs the last two seasons in Single-A and Double-A, McDougal has found that he feeds off the intensity and high stakes of playoff baseball. He hopes to help recreate that with the White Sox.

"I've always been an adrenaline guy," McDougal said. "Just since I was little, I love rollercoasters and stuff like that. It's weird just because you don't realize how much the adrenaline really does play into those types of games and those situations. But I just think when things are heightened and everybody's putting it on the line, I just feel like it just brings the best out of me for whatever reason. But I really enjoy pitching in the playoffs, high-leverage situations. I can't complain about that at all."

McDougal credited the White Sox pitching infrastructure and senior advisor to pitching Brian Bannister for his hands-on help with himself and arms throughout the organization. Now he wants to push his limits again in 2026 and hopes to make a difference at the major league level.

If it were up to McDougal, he wants to be a major league starting pitcher for as long as possible, like most pitchers. But he's willing to come out of the bullpen and give the White Sox the best chance to win in any way he can.

White Sox general manager Chris Getz was bullish on McDougal's potential to help the team in 2026.

"Tanner had a tremendous year," Getz said. "He really put himself on the map as a top arm in the industry on the Minor League side. That was an automatic for us. We feel like he can be an impactful arm for us at the Major League level in 2026."