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Schultz back and better with White Sox for postseason run · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Schultz back and better with White Sox for postseason run. Written by
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  Matthias Werner. This article is being read by an automated voice, brought
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  to you by Everlit. A local athlete could be leaving a national
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  imprint on America's pastime this postseason. Noah Schultz, former pitcher for the
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  Illinois
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  Valley Pistol Shrimp and current pitcher for The Chicago White Sox, is
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  back for his second stint at the Major League level, helping the
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  Southsiders in their quest for
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  the postseason. He's been clean since he's gotten back to the big
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  league team. Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp owner and manager John Jakimiak said
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  The biggest thing I've seen from him since he's gotten back is
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  he seems to be more aggressive and less uncertain in his decision
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  making. Four years after towing the rubber for the pistol shrimp in
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  2022, Schultz was called up to the Major League Squad and made
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  his debut on April 14, 2026. The first round draft pick struggled
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  in his initial stop with the White Sox as a starting pitcher,
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  going 3-9 with a 6.06 ERA across 65.1 innings in 15
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  appearances, 14 as the starter according to baseball reference. Following a month
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  plus long stint with Triple A Charlotte though, the White Sox recalled
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  Schultz on september 15, and he has pitched well out of the
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  bullpen. In three outings since his return, Schultz hasn't allowed an earned
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  run, tossing 5.2 innings of scoreless baseball for a team deep in
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  the throes of a playoff push. The mindset all good relievers have
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  is what you've got to be ready to be aggressive, Jackie Meeks
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  said. I think for Noah, my observation is that it has as
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  much to do with I need to set myself right and show
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  people and myself that I can do it at this level. I'm
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  going to throw the pitches I want to throw and live with
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  the results. He seems more committed to what he's doing on the
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  bump. The White Sox are counting on Schultz to help them get
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  to the postseason. His scoreless two-inning performance in Tuesday night's 14-11 victory
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  over Kansas City even earned him his first win out of the
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  bullpen and kept they White Sox one game behind Cleveland in the
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  American League's Central Division and three games ahead of Texas for the
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  final wild card spot as of Wednesday, September 23. If the White
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  Sox make it to October, both Jake Meek and Schultz's high school
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  coach at Oswego East High School, Brian Schaefer, think he could play
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  a role on the postseason, pitching staff. They're using him now, and
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  The reality is the are in the postseason today, Jackie Meek said.
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  These are all essentially playoff games. I think he's going to provide
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  a spark as a hold pitcher, Schaefer said. If he stays consistent
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  around the zone and can compete, he's going to be a good
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  spark. As the regular season winds down, Schultz's role with the White
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  Sox will come into the national spotlight come the postseason, which is
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  set to begin next week. The playoffs will mark the end of
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  Schultz's first season in the big leagues, which was a mixed bag
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  for the 23-year-old. The 26th overall pick in the 2022 MLB draft
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  has high expectations from fans, and a mid-season demotion in his rookie
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  campaign was an ideal. While recent success out of the bullpen is
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  critical for this year's White Sox club, Jachemik and Schaefer both said
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  that the long-term goal for Schultz is to reclaim a role as
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  a starter, the same role Schultz filled while on their respective teams.
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  I know Noah well enough to know that he does not identify
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  as a reliever, setup guy, or a closer. His entire training has
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  been around I'm a starter and I train as a starter, Jake
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  Miek said. My expectation is that he’s a starter. He just needs
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  to show them that he's gonna walk less and go deeper into
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  ball games, and I think he'll be somewhere at the top end
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  of that rotation for a lot of years to come. Improved command
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  is also what Schaeffer thinks can turn Schultz into a stalwart on
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  the south side. I think he demonstrated right away that he is
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  someone capable of extreme success. It's just about making sure that he's
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  consistent around the strike zone, Schaeffer said. If he's able to do
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  that, I think he can definitely find his way back in that
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  starting rotation, and have a good long future ahead of him, with
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  the White Sox going forward.