Chicago White Sox right-hander Jesse Scholtens tore his UCL and is expected to miss the entire 2024 season. Scholtens has been placed on the 60-day injured list after the White Sox traded left-hander Bailey Horn to the Chicago Cubs. Scholtens, 30, made his major league debut last year. He made 26 appearances with 11 starts and 85 innings along the way. He had a 5.29 ERA while striking out 15.4% of opponents while issuing walks at an 8% clip.
The #WhiteSox have acquired LHP Bailey Horn from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for RHP Matthew Thompson. To make room for Horn on the 40-man roster, the White Sox placed RHP Jesse Scholtens on the 60-day injured list with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) February 27, 2024
Jesse Scholtens to Undergo Tommy John Surgery
According to Sox Machine’s James Fegan, Scholtens will undergo surgery on Friday. Scholtens did not appear in Cactus League games down at spring training before suffering the injury. He was going to serve as a depth role for the White Sox this year as they have plenty of other options remaining. Chicago revamped a majority of their pitching staff last season. Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly, and Lucas Giolito have been traded, while Mike Clevinger and Liam Hendriks departed by free agency.
There are also the additions of Erick Fedde, Chris Flexen, Mike Soroka and Jared Shuster. While John Brebbia, Tim Hill and Jesse Chavez are among the offseason additions to the bullpen. There should be plenty of opportunity for a depth arm or two to step up and fill a role for the White Sox this year. Unfortunately, Scholtens won’t be able to take advantage of that opportunity. His recovery time will lead into the early portions of the 2025 season. Hopefully, he will string together a comeback campaign.
Profile on Scholtens
Scholtens threw a perfect game at Wright State and then was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the ninth round of the 2016 MLB Draft. He split his first professional season between Low-A right through High-A, accumulating a 1.54 ERA in 19 games. He split the following year in Double-A and Triple-A, posting a 7-9 record, 3.60 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 147 1/3 innings pitched. In 2018, Scholtens made 27 appearances (24 starts) with a 4.14 ERA and 119 strikeouts in 137 innings.
Scholten’s production has been considered spotty as he sits with a 29-41 record and a 4.27 ERA in his minor league career.
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