Wednesday, May 27

CHICAGO – Davis Martin doesn’t like talking about Davis Martin, even in these most tremendous of 2026 times.

So, when I had the chance to chat with the White Sox right-hander prior to Sunday’s series finale in San Francisco, the opening three questions I asked centered upon … Davis Martin, of course.

It’s a tough topic to avoid during the first third of the 2026 season. Heading into Tuesday, Martin, 29, was tied with Cleveland’s Gavin Williams for the American League lead at seven victories behind his 7-1 record. His 66 strikeouts placed Martin seventh in the AL with his 1.02 WHIP ranking him fifth. Martin’s 2.04 ERA rated him third overall, elevated slightly during Friday’s victory by the first time in 10 starts he allowed four earned runs.

When AL Cy Young talk bubbles up after 54 games, Martin’s name quickly rises to the top. So, what does he think of such talk?

“You kind of almost get a little bit of imposter syndrome there for a second, but then you realize God has you in this place for a reason,” Martin told me. “There’s no mistake. You go out and compete.

“If it’s God’s plan, great. If not, we have a lot of things we can do on this team and are excited for on this team.”

The team, as in the White Sox, is a subject Martin can get behind. He should take pride in this group being in a Wild Card spot as June approaches, albeit with 108 games to play, as the longest-tenured current White Sox member.

Martin has viewed some really tough baseball times. But there’s an easy understanding of how special this present team is on and off the field, with Martin talking about it since after the All-Star break last season.

“It just brings you back to what baseball is supposed to be, right? You are supposed to have fun playing the game with your friends,” Martin said. “That’s the purest form of baseball.

“We are reaching that point where guys are excited to come in, guys are excited to see each other and play with each other, celebrate each other’s successes, pick each other up when each other fails. That’s been the greatest part of this team. It truly feels like a family.”

As one of the galvanizing forces on this team, Martin has to be considered a special voice. Remember the theme of this story, though – it’s about Davis Martin, but not about Davis Martin by his choice. 

“Everybody has their own goal, their own lane, per se,” Martin said. “It’s the beautiful thing about a 26-man roster, in that you have 26 very different personalities. You can kind of settle in and be yourself and your own personality. The roles kind of settle themselves.

“Every single one of us has his own role to play. A little microcosm is the starting rotation, a perfect example.”

Anthony Kay is the one who chirps everybody, according to Martin’s rotation assessment. Sean Burke makes everybody laugh. Rookie Noah Schultz, who was placed on the 15-day injured list prior to Tuesday’s contest, is trying to learn while bringing youth and vitality.

“Then, you have [Erick] Fedde, who I like to learn from a lot. He’s been around and played a long time. He’s experienced a lot of innings and baseball starts,” Martin said. “As the season goes on, it’s really cool to see how roles are kind of solidifying.”

One starter left out in that conversation was Martin himself.

“I don’t know,” said a smiling Martin of his role. “I don’t like talking about myself.”

Seven weeks and 41 games have to play out before the All-Star Game in Philadelphia on July 14. Martin will have approximately eight starts in that time.

On May 27, it’s difficult to imagine Martin being left off the list of AL honorees even when factoring in roster permutations giving every team a representative. Just don’t ask Martin to break down the possibility.

“I try to treat it as chapters in a book. Just one day at a time, one start at a time. What can I do, what can I learn from this start to that start?” Martin said. “Keep my head down, put blinders on and if I’m in the All-Star Game, great. If not, it’s fine. We are so team-focused right now that all the individual accolades are on the back seat.”

“I'm just a huge fan of his,” said White Sox director of pitching Brian Bannister. “He has a very calm demeanor. He believes in himself. He's really into the craft of pitching, his process, and he sets a great tone and example for the rest of the guys on the staff.”

The White Sox found success early on in the 2025 season through Arizona resets for then-struggling prospects shortstop Colson Montgomery and left-hander Hagen Smith. They are doing the same with southpaw Christian Oppor, the No. 8 White Sox prospect per MLB Pipeline.

Oppor, 21, had a 9.49 ERA and 36 walks compared to 18 strikeouts over eight starts for Double-A Birmingham.

“In talking to him and after he found out, he was in the right frame of mind,” White Sox director of player development Paul Janish said. “I don’t want to say almost optimistic, but he was very on board and a lot of buy in of what he needs to do.” 

• I’ll never fly a red eye from the West Coast back to Chicago again, at least not for work. To paraphrase Danny Glover, I’m too old for flights taking off at 1:14 a.m. CT.

• Happy birthday to my good friend, Maria, who celebrated the special occasion on Tuesday.

• A tip of the cap to the carver at Oracle Park on Friday, giving me a little piece of brisket to go with the turkey sandwich I ordered. Your secret is safe with me, and the other people who read the newsletter.

• Danhausen, the extremely popular WWE wrestler, put a curse on the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Knicks promptly swept them in the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals. I want to work with Danhausen on a couple of college football teams for the upcoming season.

“It’s kind of nice we get to stay pretty local, pretty central, with a lot of shorter flights.” – reliever Grant Taylor on the White Sox already having made three West Coast trips

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