White Sox call on prospect Dunning to duel Tigers' Mize

It's going to be a battle of the pitching prospects Wednesday night in Chicago.

The Chicago White Sox have promoted right-hander Dane Dunning to make his major-league debut opposite highly touted Detroit Tigers rookie Casey Mize, the White Sox announced.

The 25-year-old Dunning was acquired alongside fellow hurlers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez from the Washington Nationals in the Adam Eaton trade. An elbow strain sidelined Dunning down the stretch of 2018 and Tommy John surgery wiped out his entire 2019 season.

Prior to the injury, he looked good in Double-A. He went 5-2 with a 2.76 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and 69 strikeouts over 62 innings, and Dunning didn't allow a home run for Double-A Birmingham.

Dunning's prospect capital dipped a bit in the wake of losing more than a year of action, but he was MLB Pipeline's No. 59 prospect as recently as 2018. He's currently listed as Chicago's eighth-best prospect and fifth among a deep crop of young arms.

The former first-rounder's scouting report shows a plus fastball with sink that tops out at 96 mph as well as a slider and changeup that serve as solid offspeed offerings.

Chicago reinstated outfielder Adam Engel from the injured list, designated infielder Cheslor Cuthbert for assignment, and optioned reliever Jose Ruiz in corresponding moves.

Meanwhile, Mize is the second Tigers pitcher to make his MLB debut in consecutive days after lefty Tarik Skubal allowed four runs in two innings of work against the White Sox on Tuesday.