Tanner McDougal News: Breakout season at Double-A

McDougal has a 1.20 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 65:16 K:BB in 52.2 innings over his last 10 starts across High-A and Double-A.

McDougal earned a promotion from High-A Winston-Salem to Double-A Birmingham on June 18 and hasn't skipped a beat, registering a 0.89 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 38:8 K:BB in 30.1 innings through six starts for the Barons. The 6-foot-5 righty had Tommy John surgery in 2021 and it wasn't until this year that he started throwing enough strikes to start, as he logged a 13.6 percent walk rate at Single-A and High-A in 2024. McDougal has big-time stuff, boasting a triple-digit fastball and a hammer curveball. He'll need to be added to the 40-man roster this season to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, and McDougal is trending toward being a prominent part of the White Sox rotation in 2026.