The Chicago White Sox, popping out of the worst season in trendy main league historical past, began 2025 with a bang: an 8-1 win over the Angels on Opening Day. They misplaced the following two video games, then pounded the Twins into smithereens on the final day of March. Since then, the Sox have dropped 12 video games out of 14 and as soon as once more settled like silt on the underside of the American League standings desk.
It’s not going to be their 12 months in spite of everything. However I don’t suppose it’s going to be as depressing because it was in 2024, and Chase Meidroth is one purpose why.
Only a few groups in skilled sports activities historical past have been as abjectly horrible because the White Sox, and a few years in the past, once I was younger and callow, I had the misfortune of writing frequently about certainly one of them: the Course of-era Philadelphia 76ers. The parallels between these White Sox and people Sixers don’t go very far, however in that point I discovered a invaluable lesson: Unhealthy will not be as depressing to observe as boring.
Imagine it or not, I even have largely constructive reminiscences of these horrendous Sixers; at the same time as they went months on finish with out profitable, they cycled by an fascinating cadre of unfancied younger gamers and remember-this-guy veterans who may in any other case have been too bizarre to stay on an NBA roster. I’m positive a lot of that affection got here from a mix of postgraduate boredom and mid-2010s compounding irony, however we had some enjoyable with Tony Wroten and Jerami Grant and Henry Sims, and so forth.
At the same time as I stay pessimistic about Chicago’s team-building course of (equivalent to it’s) basically, there are particular person inexperienced shoots and leaves poking out by the morass. Shane Smith is one instance; Meidroth is one other.
Even primarily based on solely three begins’ price of information, I really feel fairly assured declaring Smith to be a invaluable massive league contributor. A reliever at worst, a no. 3 or no. 4 starter at greatest, perhaps someplace in between. As a result of I’ve seen pitchers like him earlier than and I do know what they flip into.
Meidroth is a distinct animal. There’s no one like him within the league.
Simply yesterday, Eric Longenhagen and James Fegan posted our White Sox prospect checklist, with Smith seventh and Meidroth eighth out of 40 ranked names, with a forty five FV grade on each. (Eric particularly wrote that Meidroth “seems to be a bit like if Cary Elwes’ character in The Princess Bride simply received dwelling from his first semester in a frat.” I learn that line, instantly texted Eric: “The Dread Pirate Brian Roberts,” and took the remainder of the afternoon off, I used to be so pleased with myself.)
Meidroth is listed at 5-foot-10, 190 kilos. Eric and James put 40s on his run and area instruments, and a forty five on his arm. In elements of 4 seasons within the minor leagues, Meidroth has performed 527 2/3 innings at second base, 809 2/3 innings at third base, and 599 innings at brief. Calling him a extremely contact-oriented groundball hitter doesn’t inform the entire story — I’ll get to that shortly — nevertheless it tells sufficient of the story that you just’re in all probability beginning to suppose I used to be filled with crap once I mentioned Meidroth was distinctive.
We all know this man, the small and/or stocky singles hitter who finally ends up at second base as a result of he can’t actually defend some other place, and isn’t even particularly nice there. He doesn’t run nicely, he doesn’t hit for energy, he simply hits a bunch of singles and by no means strikes out.
That is, to a better or lesser extent, Luis Arraez. A slower Whit Merrifield. Jean Segura with a gap in his glove. A wealthy man’s Santiago Espinal, a poor man’s Brendan Donovan, a clean-shaven man’s Luis Guillorme.
Any White Sox followers who received this far are in all probability considering, “I’d say, ‘We now have Nick Madrigal at dwelling,’ however we traded him and aren’t precisely worse off for it.”
There’s a key distinction. Listed here are the profession stats for a number of of the potential comps for Meidroth I discussed above, in comparison with the White Sox infielder’s stats from final 12 months’s minor league season. See if you happen to can spot the distinction.
Destiny of the Slappybois
| Identify | BB% | Ok% | wRC+ | GB/FB | O-Swing% | Z-Swing% | O-Contact% | Z-Contact% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Madrigal | 4.6% | 9.0% | 88 | 2.77 | 29.8% | 59.7% | 81.8% | 96.2% |
| Luis Arraez | 6.8% | 6.7% | 119 | 1.40 | 27.7% | 63.0% | 88.4% | 95.2% |
| Santiago Espinal | 7.1% | 13.8% | 90 | 1.19 | 25.4% | 65.5% | 69.5% | 91.2% |
| Jean Segura | 5.4% | 13.9% | 96 | 2.10 | 32.5% | 63.5% | 72.1% | 91.1% |
| Chase Meidroth* | 18.8% | 12.7% | 132 | 1.95 | 18.3% | 43.2% | 79.6% | 93.6% |
| 2025 MLB Avg. | 9.1% | 22.6% | 100 | 1.10 | 28.4% | 64.6% | 55.6% | 84.8% |
*2024 in Triple-A
As you may see, most of those guys are free swingers. They will hit all the pieces, so that they do hit all the pieces. Not Meidroth. I don’t know if his dad and mom named him “Chase” as a “Boy Named Sue”-style problem, however he doesn’t. Chase, that’s. His profession is one lengthy rebuke of nominative determinism.
Final season, Meidroth had the third-lowest chase charge in Triple-A. He swung at 30.7% of the pitches he noticed, no matter location. That was the bottom swing charge in Triple-A, and would’ve been the bottom within the majors (forward of Juan Soto, good guess) by 6.2 proportion factors. Meidroth was 17% extra selective than Soto final 12 months; the distinction between Meidroth and Soto was the identical as Soto and Tyler Stephenson, who had the Twenty fourth-lowest total swing charge within the majors.
It beggars perception. We’ve seen loads of hitters within the Arraez genus who don’t swing that always: Steven Kwan, Sal Frelick… Geraldo Perdomo might be a little bit of a stretch, however he’s within the neighborhood. However no one swings as occasionally as Meidroth. Final 12 months, Ceddanne Rafaela and Ezequiel Tovar swung extra continuously at pitches exterior the strike zone than Meidroth swung at pitches inside it.
I’m fascinated to see how nicely Meidroth’s method interprets to the majors. He’s by no means hit double-digit homers in a minor league season, and I don’t suppose he’s going to place up high-teens stroll charges within the massive leagues it doesn’t matter what he does, but when he can hit within the excessive .200s with… let’s name it a 12% stroll charge, he’ll be within the high 10 within the league in OBP, and at that time he may be an above-average common even when he doesn’t area his place nicely or hit for energy.
The truth that Kwan can do that doesn’t precisely show that Meidroth can, nevertheless it ought to offer Meidroth’s backers hope.
If all of it falls aside for Meidroth, it’ll be as a result of main league pitchers have higher command than their Triple-A counterparts. How Meidroth offers with it will decide whether or not he will get labeled as discerning or passive.
Final season, 42.7% of the pitches Meidroth noticed have been within the shadow assault zone — across the fringe of the strike zone. That was the Forty second-highest proportion out of the 309 Triple-A hitters who noticed 1,000 pitches or extra, and inside that zone Meidroth posted a .374 OBP, which was sixteenth out of 309. That’s superb.
However Meidroth swung at simply 33.5% of pitches throughout the shadow zone, the bottom mark of any Triple-A hitter with a consultant pattern. Separating that even additional into pitches contained in the zone versus out of the zone, Meidroth swung at 28.4% of balls within the shadow zone, in comparison with 37.7% of strikes.
We’re speaking a few small goal for pitchers to hit — a bit of greater than three inches vast on the sides of the strike zone, and 4 inches tall on the high and backside. But when a pitcher can hit it, two out of 3 times Meidroth goes to offer him a free referred to as strike.
For example this level, I’ve invented a stat I’m going to name Discernment Charge. Don’t hassle remembering the title; I’m in all probability by no means going to make use of it once more. It’s swing charge on shadow zone strikes minus swing charge on shadow zone balls. Meidroth’s discernment charge in Triple-A final 12 months is 9.3% — 37.7% minus 28.4%.
That might’ve been within the fourth percentile amongst main league hitters for the reason that begin of the 2024 common season. Kwan, if we wish to maintain utilizing him as a comp, had a discernment charge of 18.0%.
It’s attainable for a hitter like Meidroth to carry his personal whereas treating all edge case pitches roughly the identical. Arraez has a decrease discernment charge, and Frelick will not be that a lot greater at 10.4%. However each of these hitters are way more aggressive on the fringe of the zone than Meidroth — nearly twice as aggressive, in Arraez’s case.
And that’s in all probability an adjustment Meidroth should make within the massive leagues. As a result of proper now, that is the type of take I’m fearful about.
It’s the primary pitch of the at-bat, but when phrase will get out that Meidroth goes to take 93 on the letters for strike one, each pitcher within the league goes to oblige him.
We’ll see how he does. Each hitter has to be taught some new tips on first contact with massive league opposition; Meidroth isn’t any exception. Sadly, the upper stage of competitors may drive the White Sox rookie to grow to be much less bizarre. Through which case, he’ll simply need to be good.