Chicago White Sox starting rotation gets dire warning amid 2026 improvement

The Chicago White Sox have been one of the biggest surprises in Major League Baseball this season. While they are under .500 at 19-21, they reached 19 wins in 40 games this year as opposed to last season when it took them 61 games to reach that mark. What is more, they are only 1.5 games out of first place in the woeful American League Central Division.

Munetaka Murakami, of course, has been the biggest star on the team thus far this season. That being said, right-handed starting pitcher Davis Martin, too, has emerged as a breakout candidate this year and has turned into the ace Chicago has been missing for so long.

The Chicago White Sox need more than just Davis Martin

Through eight starts, Martin is 5-1 with a 1.62 ERA. His .833 winning percentage also leads the American League. While his strong start to 2026 is encouraging, though, the fact of the matter is that Chicago has not received much contribution from the rest of their starting rotation.

Bleacher Report recently ranked all the starting rotations in MLB, slotting the White Sox in at 21st with a warning that they need someone else to step up in addition to Martin:

“In Davis Martin, the White Sox have the breakout starting pitcher of the year. The 29-year-old had been a serviceable piece of a woeful rotation in recent years, but now he has a 1.62 ERA and six of this staff’s 11 quality starts. However, he is Chicago’s only pitcher with more than five innings pitched and an ERA below 4.44 as a starter, so the White Sox are in the same boat as the Reds with one dominant force in what is otherwise a sea of mediocrity.”

Credit should be given to Chicago’s bullpen for helping them reach the level at which they are, but bullpens can be overused over the course of a season. If the White Sox continue to rely on their current formula, a late-season collapse is inevitable.

The question, then, is what will they do about it?

Sure, Chicago could suddenly become buyers at the trade deadline after years of being sellers. That, however, would mean having to part ways with prospects that they plan to play roles on their future rosters.

If they are still in the hunt for a postseason berth as the trade deadline nears, it will be a conversation. One thing is for sure, though: Martin can’t do it all on his own.

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