Chicago White Sox Pitcher Jonathan Cannon Set to Make Franchise History in MLB Debut

Right after Nick Nastrini made his first MLB appearance for the Chicago White Sox, Jonathan Cannon has been called up to face the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday.

Mar 22, 2024; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Jonathan Cannon (89) throws off the mound. / Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago White Sox have selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Jonathan Cannon from Triple-A Charlotte, per the team's transaction log.

Cannon will start for the White Sox against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night, marking his MLB debut.

Your #WhiteSox lineup vs. Kansas City: pic.twitter.com/jYP8YXFFJN

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 16, 2024

Nick Nastrini got called up and made his own big league debut Monday versus the Royals. By putting the two young righties back-to-back, Chicago is set to make franchise history.

According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, this is the third time in White Sox history that they have had a starting pitcher make their MLB debut on back-to-back days. The first time it happened was in 1901, and it hasn't been accomplished since 1932.

with Nick Nastrini and Jonathan Cannon, this is the 3rd time in White Sox history they’ve had a starting pitcher make his MLB debut on back-to-back days, joining:

1932: Charlie Biggs, Fabian Kowalik
1901: Roy Patterson, John Skopec

h/t @MLBNetwork research squad

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 16, 2024

The White Sox may not have gotten the win in Nastrini's debut, but the former Los Angeles Dodgers draft pick allowed just two earned runs in 5.0 innings of work. A similar outing from Cannon would be a welcome sight for Chicago fans, even if he isn't long for the big league rotation.

Manager Pedro Grifol said Monday that Nastrini and Cannon were called up to give Erick Fedde and Garrett Crochet extra rest, meaning they could be sent back to the minors relatively soon. Chris Flexen could get moved to the bullpen, though, and injuries always happen, so perhaps they could carve out roles at the MLB level moving forward.

Cannon is ranked as the No. 11 prospect and No. 6 pitcher in the White Sox's farm system. Nastrini, meanwhile, was Chicago's No. 8 prospect and No. 3 pitcher.

The White Sox selected Cannon in the third round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of the University of Georgia. He tossed 1.0 scoreless inning in the 2023 Futures Game following a successful run with High-A Winston-Salem.

Cannon joined the White Sox for Spring Training and went 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 1.091 WHIP in 11.0 innings in Cactus League play. He made two starts for Triple-A Charlotte to open 2024, posting a 2.79 ERA across 9.2 innings.

That hot start to the year led the Chicago trusting him to face Kansas City, bringing even more youth to the White Sox's rotation. Nastrini and Crochet are both 24 years old, while Canon is 23.

First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. ET.

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