Chicago White Sox: Internal second base options
Nick Madrigal. 1. player. 128. . 2B. Chicago White Sox
Why not start the future now? Well, that’s because of a couple of notable reasons.
One, the team doesn’t believe Nick Madrigal has accumulated enough Triple-A plate appearances as GM Rick Hahn has hinted.
The 22-year-old started the 2019 season with High-A Winston-Salem and played more games (49) there than any of the other two levels he played at.
Madrigal actually only played a total of 29 games at Triple-A Charlotte in which he accumulated 134 plate appearances.
That being said, he also had a .331/.398/.424 slash line there so it’s hard to argue his bat wouldn’t play well at the major league level based on his stats alone.
The other factor to consider, though, is service time manipulation.
Rick Hahn has proven to go against the grain on this thinking in the past as he signed Eloy Jimenez to an extension to put him on the Opening Day roster in 2019 and did the same for Luis Robert this season.
Our own Samiya Green made a compelling case for why the team should continue the trend with Madrigal.
There’s really no doubt in anyone’s mind that Madrigal is the team’s best option to play the position in 2020. His .311/.377/.414 slash line, 35 stolen bases, and lowly 16 total strikeouts would suggest he doesn’t have much more to learn in Triple-A.
If the team would start the season with Madrigal on the roster, which the White Sox front office should give him every chance to prove he deserves to, the rest of this article would become a moot point.
But, for now, the next two options are very relevant.