Who is Nick Nastrini? A look at the Sox rookie SP

CHICAGO — When Chicago White Sox fans show up to the ballpark this evening to watch them take on the Kansas City Royals, they’ll see one of their better pitching prospects making his Major League Baseball debut. So, the question remains, who is Nick Nastrini?

A product of John Savage’s baseball program on the West Coast at UCLA, Nastrini comes with plenty of talent to warrant palpable hype around his MLB debut since being acquired in a 2023 deadline trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers for Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly.

Whether it’s MLB.com, Baseball America, The Athletic, Baseball Prospectus or ESPN, all five publications rate Nastrini as one of the White Sox’s top pitching prospects, and the White Sox saw plenty of that talent during Spring Training in Arizona back in March.

Nastrini pitched in five games, making three starts, while posting an 0-1 record with a 3.77 ERA in 14.1 innings pitched with 11 strikeouts and nine walks.

When it comes to stuff, there’s a lot to like about Nastrini. He’s got a fastball that sizzles up to 98 miles-per-hour, with three plus-off speed offerings that keep batters off balance and leads to plenty of strikeouts.

Nastrini posted a 29.7% strikeout rate against lefties, and a 26.1% whiff rate against righties between Double-A and Triple-A in Chicago and Los Angeles’ farm systems last year.

Overall, Nastrini notched a 9-5 record with a 4.08 ERA in 25 starts last season. Those numbers came in tandem with 139 strikeouts compared to 54 walks in 114.2 innings pitched.

The only knock on Nastrini, and what has prevented him from becoming a truly elite pitching prospect across MLB, is a lack of firm control over his pitching repertoire.

As the stats have already hinted at, walks have gotten him into trouble at various points in his minor league career, but the stuff has outshined his lack of control to the point he is now making his MLB debut for the White Sox.

The Chicago White Sox start a three game series at home Monday against the Kansas City Royals, with first pitch set for 6:40 p.m. Central Time on Jackie Robinson Day.