Chicago White Sox: Danny Mendick impressive in first MLB stint

Danny Mendick got his first MLB chance in the month of September this season and he certainly impressed the Chicago White Sox in his time with the team. 

While Danny Mendick is by no means a household name, the infielder played very admirably while with the club this month.

In 16 games, Mendick was 12-for-39 (.308) with two home runs and four RBI. While that is certainly a very small sample size for the infielder, it seemed like he had no trouble maintaining his success from Triple-A.

During his 133 games at Triple-A Charlotte, Mendick hit .279/.368/.444 with 17 home runs and 64 RBI. He exclusively played second base in the minors in 2019.

However, the White Sox moved him around when he got to the majors, having him play second, third, and shortstop.

Considering he only appeared in 16 games, all of these sample sizes are pretty insignificant in terms of projecting future performance.

Mendick, though, did play pretty solidly at all three positions, only having a UZR under zero at shortstop and by a very slight margin at -0.3 according to FanGraphs. That essentially means he was still league average at the position.

The 25-year-old did prove while he was with the team that he could play at the major league level, and with the team trying to move him around the diamond, the organization appears to agree.

While it is extremely unlikely that the team is going to be making plans around him anytime soon, they clearly do see the 26-year-old as a potential utility infield option in the near future.

The White Sox are going to be trying to fill many of their team’s holes through free agency and trades this offseason, but no team can expect to do well through their core and offseason moves alone.

Almost every team needs a player that comes out of nowhere and produces in key spots to be successful. Danny Mendick could be that player for the Chicago White Sox in 2020.