Chase Meidroth has spent the majority of his career being underrated. The 25-year-old wasn’t drafted until the fourth round back in 2022 and wasn’t a particularly highly touted prospect during his minor league career in the Red Sox organization. In the trade that sent Meidroth to the White Sox, he was largely considered the third-best prospect in the deal. But just two years into his White Sox career, Meidroth has emerged as one of the best second basemen in baseball both at the plate and in the field. His stellar defense earned him a Gold Glove finalist nod, and his strong offensive showing should also land him a Silver Slugger opportunity (finalists to be announced later this week). Unfortunately, a brutal snub in the Gold Glove race has still left Meidroth’s heroics largely unheralded.
Your 2026 Rawlings Gold Glove Award Winner - AL Second Base - Cole Young#RawlingsGoldGloveAwards pic.twitter.com/jaHBgkPQ89
— Rawlings Baseball (@RawlingsSports) November 2, 2026
The Gold Glove award winners were announced by Rawlings on Sunday night, and it was Mariners infielder Cole Young that took home the award instead of Meidroth. At first glance, it seems egregious. Baseball Savant’s OAA (outs above average) metric has Chase Meidroth in the 95th percentile with a +10 mark, while Cole Young’s -6 puts him in the bottom ten percent of the league. However, looking at another common defensive stat, DRS, Cole Young has a big advantage. Young’s +16 DRS was among the best marks in baseball, while Meidroth comes in at 0 DRS.
Gold Glove voting format hurt Chase Meidroth despite stellar numbers
Essentially, Chase Meidroth was better at making difficult plays than Cole Young, but Young’s overall defensive value measured higher than Meidroth’s. The way Gold Glove winners are determined is quite interesting actually. 75% is determined by the player and manager vote, and voters are not allowed to vote for someone on their own team. The other 25% is determined by something called the SABR Defensive Index, which is a summative stat that attempts to determine how many runs a player has saved or cost his team with defense over the course of the season. This metric has Cole Young at 5.1 and Chase Meidroth at 3.8.
Regardless of the reason, it felt like Meidroth had a great chance to take home the award for his efforts in the field, and coming up short is disappointing. Whether he ends up in the running for a Silver Slugger or not, Meidroth had one of the biggest breakout seasons on the White Sox in 2026 and emerged as one of the best second basemen in the American League. At 25 years old, he should have room to improve even further in 2027 and beyond.
As White Sox fans learned when Dylan Cease didn’t make the All-Star team in 2022, yet finished second in the Cy Young voting, not everyone gets rewarded for their incredible seasons. If anything, Chase Meidroth can use it as motivation to get even better. Being under-the-radar is not something unfamiliar to Meidroth. In fact, it seems to bring out his best.
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