White Sox’ rookie starter Shane Smith named to American League All-Star team

DENVER — It was back in the first inning of a spring training game against the vaunted Los Angeles Dodgers lineup when White Sox manager Will Venable realized they had landed something special in their 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-foot-3, 240-pound righty was named to the MLB All-Star Game July 15 in Atlanta.

He’s the Sox’ first rookie All-Star since Jose Abreu in 2014, the team’s first-ever 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.

“This is a guy who came into spring training just trying to make the club, and the whirlwind that that must have been for him — and then he comes out and pitches like he does and finds himself on the All-Star team,” Venable said. “It's just an amazing story, and we’re just extremely proud of him.”

Before the announcement, Smith labored in his start Sunday at Colorado, surrendering five runs in 4⅓ innings. He's 3-6 on the season with a 4.20 ERA, 76 strikeouts and 37 walks over 17 outings.

He had been the obvious pick to be the Sox’ representative to the All-Star game until a recent string of four rough outings began in late June, raising the possibility of his rotation mate Adrian Houser getting the nod as the veteran has turned heads following his midseason signing. Smith is nearing a career-high workload with 81⅔ innings pitched this year.

But 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.

His ERA is still fifth among MLB rookies, 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.

As eye-opening as the Smith's early success has been, he wasn’t a completely hidden gem. The Sox snatched Smith from the Brewers organization with the first pick December’s Rule 5 Draft, 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 ever 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.”