Pro baseball: White gets first Triple-A win
Published 12:00 am Friday, July 7, 2023
Staff report
ROUND ROCK, Texas — Owen White is beginning to settle in at Triple-A, although he should get another shot at the major leagues before too long.
White turned in a dominant outing on Tuesday for the Round Rock Express. He pitched five innings in his new home at Dell Diamond in front of 11,639 fans and helped shut out the Sugar Land Space Cowboys.
It was the first Triple-A win for White. He struck out three, while allowing one walk and three hits.
White has pitched three times for Round Rock and has pitched 12 innings.
White had success with the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders with two wins and 48 strikeouts. He won a Texas League Pitcher of the Week award shortly before being promoted to the Texas Rangers for his MLB debut.
He pitched in one game in relief for the Rangers (on June 13) before being sent back to the minors.
The Rangers’ No. 2 overall prospect allowed two runs on a hit (a solo home run in the fifth) and three walks in five innings.
White, Texas’ top pitching prospect, is on the AL roster for the 24th edition of the Futures All-Star Game, which will be played in Seattle on Saturday, July 8, with an AL vs. NL format. That seven-inning game will be aired on Peacock and Sirius XM at 7 p.m. ET.
White was selected out of Carson High in the second round of the 2018 MLB draft and signed for $1.5 million. He chose pro ball over a scholarship to South Carolina.
The next three years included some setbacks. There was Tommy John surgery after a 2019 elbow injury, then COVID and then a broken hand.
When he finally got healthy, he did very well in the minors in 2021. Then he was Pitcher of the Year in the 2021 Arizona Fall League, where he went 5-0 with a 1.91 ERA.
The 2023 MLB draft will be held in Seattle on July 9-11. It used to be held in June but was pushed back so it could be marketed along with the MLB All-Star Game.
Two local high school pitchers — East Rowan’s Chance Mako and South Rowan’s Haiden Leffew are likely draft picks.
Mako signed with N.C. State, while Leffew signed with Wake Forest.