Game Thread: White Sox (7-14) at Athletics (11-10)

Noah Schultz dons the South Side pinstripes for the second time today. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images It’s Noah Schultz day, everyone! The second big league start for the highly-hyped 22-year-old Chicagoland native is imminent, making for one of the more highly anticipated April contests in recent memory.

Let’s make a few observations about Schultz’s debut start so we can understand what we might expect today. Per Baseball Savant, Schultz flashed his entire six-pitch arsenal, but largely relied on four offerings. He used his sinker and four-seam fastball in roughly equal proportion to both right- and left-handed hitters, both clocking in around 97 mph, which would be the fourth-fastest average among all big league lefties this year.

Against lefty hitters, Schultz turned to the sweeper as his out pitch, which worked to the extent that hitters went 0-for-3 against it with two strikes. Against righties, Schultz turned into someone Lance Lynn-esque, putting together an even mix of four-seamers, sinkers and cutters that function somewhat like a breaking ball. Now and then, he’ll also try to get a hitter with a back-foot sweeper that’s almost reminiscent of how Carlos Rodón would attack hitters at his peak.

The thing to watch out for today is Schultz’s changeup. He threw it 14% of the time in Triple-A against righties, but on Tuesday he only utilized it twice. With Jeff McNeil and Carlos Cortes getting a day off, the A’s are running out a heavily right-handed lineup.