DENVER — It was back in the first inning of a spring-training game against the Dodgers’ vaunted lineup when White Sox manager Will Venable realized the team had landed something special in Rule 5 Draft pick Shane Smith.
First the rookie struck out Shohei Ohtani on a 98-mph fastball. Then he fanned Freddie Freeman on another heater. And it only took three more to mow down catcher Will Smith.
“That was the one that sticks out — like, ‘Oh, like this dude is legit,’” Venable said.
Smith’s fellow players and league officials shared that assessment Sunday as the 6-3, 240-pound righty was named to the All-Star Game on July 15 in Atlanta.
He’s the Sox’ first rookie All-Star since Jose Abreu in 2014, the team’s first rookie pitcher to make an All-Star team and the first Rule 5 pitcher to make the Midsummer Classic in MLB history. And it’s all happening in the first few months since the 25-year-old fought his way onto the Sox’ roster.
“From just fighting for a roster spot in spring to being in Atlanta in July is not something that I envisioned or expected by any means,” Smith said. “Just to be able to put my best foot forward and have it work out is incredible.”
Before the announcement, Smith labored in his start at Colorado, surrendering five runs in 4⅓ innings in the Sox’ 6-4 loss. He’s 3-7 on the season with a 4.20 ERA, 76 strikeouts and 37 walks in 17 outings.
He had been the obvious pick to be the Sox’ representative to the All-Star Game until his recent string of four rough outings began in late June, raising the possibility of his rotation mate Adrian Houser getting the nod, with the veteran turning heads after his midseason signing.
Smith is approaching a career-high workload with 83⅔ innings this year, but he said he’s catching a second wind amid the rough patch.
“For the last month, it doesn’t really feel like I deserved it,” Smith said. “I’m really thankful and just wanna do my best.”
The Danvers, Massachusetts, native had already made a strong impression on opposing teams by June 10, when his ERA was down to 2.37 and he hadn’t allowed more than three earned runs in any of his first 13 career starts. All-Star pitchers and reserves are selected by player ballots and the commissioner’s office.
Smith’s ERA was still fifth among MLB rookies entering Sunday, thanks to that nasty fastball, a winding 90-mph slider and a newfound changeup that throws hitters off balance from his unique cross-body delivery.
“It’s hard to not get emotional about it for him,” said Sox reliever Mike Vasil, a fellow Rule 5 pick and Boston-area product who has long trained with Smith. “He’s always trying to find a way to be the best version of himself, and also be an incredible teammate.”
As eye-opening as Smith’s early success has been, he wasn’t a completely hidden gem. The Sox snatched him from the Brewers’ organization with the first pick in the Rule 5 Draft in December, which is intended to discourage teams from hoarding big-league talent in the minors.
Smith, who went undrafted out of Wake Forest, struck out 113 batters in 94⅓ innings in his third season in the minors last year.
“I think probably everyone in the league had identified that he would have been the No. 1 selection,” Venable said.
But they might not have predicted he’d pitch himself into the rebuilding Sox’ long-term plans right out of the gate. Now Smith is just the second player to make an All-Star team in the year after his selection in the Rule 5 Draft, after former Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla in 2006.
“I don’t think if you were to ask anybody last year as he was standing on a minor-league field that he would be pitching in Atlanta here in a week,” Sox pitching coach Ethan Katz said. “It’s just a crazy journey.”
