Shane Smith, a Milwaukee Brewers minor-league pitcher last year who was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the Rule 5 draft this offseason, has translated his immediate big-league success into a berth on the American League All-Star team, a selection announced Sunday.
The 25-year-old Smith wasn’t offered a spot on the Brewers’ 40-man roster this offseason and Chicago made him the No. 1 overall choice in the Rule 5 proceedings. Smith immediately hit the ground running, posting a 2.05 ERA over his first nine big-league starts.
He becomes the second player ever to go from Rule 5 pick to All-Star in his first season with a new organization, and the first since Florida Marlins infielder Dan Uggla in 2006.
Though it’s easy to see Smith as the “one that got away” after he had a 3.05 ERA over the highest two levels of the Brewers’ minor-league organization in 2024, there are some caveats.
Smith has been roughed up in his past four starts, allowing 21 earned runs in just more than 15 innings, amounting to a 12.33 ERA in that stretch. His ERA for the year is now up to 4.20, and his WHIP is up to 1.327, though the ERA still ranks second among qualified AL rookie starters. Smith developed a new changeup with the White Sox that helped in his early outings.
Meanwhile, the Brewers have found a stunning abundance of starting-pitching depth, at least in the short term.
Even given his success, the White Sox are just 4-13 in Smith’s 17 starts, with the offense scoring two runs or fewer seven times. Which also leads into the next caveat: The struggling White Sox (30-60 entering Monday) needed at least one All-Star, and Smith was one of the final players selected by Major League Baseball to account for a White Sox representative.
Did another former Brewer have an All-Star case with the White Sox?
Chicago has become a haven for former Brewers, with both Aaron Civale and Vinny Capra appearing for the White Sox this season after starting the season with the Brewers.
There’s also Adrian Houser, a member of the Brewers from 2015 through 2023, who may have rediscovered something on Chicago’s south side. So much so that he maybe had an outside case to merit selection to the All-Star Game over Smith.
Houser has only made eight starts, but in 50⅔ innings, he has allowed just nine earned runs, with a 1.60 ERA and 37 strikeouts. His 1.105 WHIP would be the best mark of his career over a full season. The White Sox are 5-3 in his starts and have scored one run twice and two runs once in the three losses.
Houser just went eight innings on July 4, allowing two unearned runs on four hits.
Traded to the New York Mets in advance of the 2024 season as part of a package for minor-leaguer Coleman Crow, Houser struggled mightily in Queens last year and posted a 5.84 ERA in 23 appearances (with seven starts), and he was out of the organization by the time the Mets and Brewers met in the playoffs.
Houser was signed by the White Sox in May after he was released by Texas, where he had a 5.03 ERA in 39⅓ innings at Class AAA.
How are Vinny Capra and Aaron Civale doing for the White Sox?
Civale, traded to the White Sox after he lost his spot in the starting rotation upon Jacob Misiorowski’s arrival, has made four starts for the White Sox, posting a 4.29 ERA in 21 innings, which isn’t bad given a gaudy 1.619 WHIP. The White Sox are 0-4 in his starts but have scored a total of five runs in those outings.
The player the Brewers acquired in the deal for Civale, first baseman Andrew Vaughn, is headed to Milwaukee to replace Rhys Hoskins, who was placed on the injured list.
Capra, claimed by the White Sox off waivers when the Brewers designated him for assignment, played in 23 games for Chicago, with a batting average of .190 and an OPS of .443, without any homers and two RBIs. The White Sox just designated Capra for assignment two days ago.
Before he left the White Sox, Capra was part of history, striking out against Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw to account for Kershaw’s 3,000th career strikeout. Kershaw’s first start since that milestone comes Tuesday at American Family Field, opposite Misorowski.
Capra homered on Opening Day for the Brewers after a red-hot spring but struggled mightily after, with a .074 batting average and a .250 OPS in 59 plate appearances with Milwaukee.
Josh Hader also makes the All-Star Game
Another former Brewers player, closer Josh Hader, also was selected for the All-Star Game.
It’s the sixth time Hader has been invited and first time since he signed a free-agent deal with Houston before the 2024 season. Hader has a 1.80 ERA this year with 25 saves in 40 innings, racking up 61 strikeouts to just seven walks. The 31-year-old’s 0.725 WHIP is the best of his career.
Hader, of course, made four All-Star teams with the Brewers and proved to be a dynamite hammer out of the bullpen. The team traded him to San Diego in a controversial 2022 midseason trade, and he made the All-Star Game with the Padres in 2023.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Brewers minor-leaguer in 2024 makes All-Star Game as rookie in 2025
Reporting by JR Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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