When the White Sox first acquired Chase Meidroth as part of the deal that sent Garrett Crochet to Boston in 2025, player comparisons ranged everywhere from Nick Madrigal to Dustin Pedroia. Throughout his minor league career, Meidroth was known for his plate discipline and propensity for getting on base. Those abilities were on full display during his Rookie season in 2025, but Meidroth has opened up a whole new aspect to his game and taken a major step forward in 2026.
For those comparing Meidroth to Nick Madrigal, the 2025 season appeared to back up those claims. In 122 big league games, Meidroth hit just five home runs and struck out just 72 times. He put the ball in play at a high rate but largely lacked power and impact contact. Defensively, he was little more than average at second base and also spent some time at shortstop early in the season.
As 2026 approached and Sam Antonacci put himself on the radar, many White Sox fans felt that Meidroth needed to show improvement this season or his job would be at risk. If that was the case, Meidroth certainly answered the bell. In 154 games in 2026, Meidroth slugged 16 home runs, more than tripling his mark from 2025. His 15 doubles in 2025 became 31 in 2026, so he became much more of an extra-base threat in general. While Meidroth’s strikeouts doubled, his batting average and on-base percentage jumped by 20 points, so it didn’t affect his overall output.
CHASE MEIDROTH THREE-RUN HOMER
— MLB (@MLB) September 30, 2026
White Sox have broken it open! pic.twitter.com/kKMHbmpdxL
Chase Meidroth has become one of the AL's best on offense and defense
Perhaps even bigger than Meidroth’s offensive growth was his defensive growth. He finished the 2026 season with 10 OAA, ranking in the 95th percentile at the position. It was announced earlier this week that Meidroth is a finalist for the Gold Glove at the position. Other finalists include Michael Massey of the Royals and Cole Young of the Mariners. Back in September, MLB.com predicted that Meidroth would win the award, and he’s currently the favorite to win it on Kalshi and other betting markets. Whether he wins it or not, it’s an excellent and well-deserved honor for a young player that had a great season.
As the White Sox turn their focus to 2027, Chris Getz and Will Venable can feel comfortable penciling Chase Meidroth into the lineup at second base on a daily basis. The White Sox infield mix is crowded and will only get more crowded with Caleb Bonemer and Roch Cholowksy potentially arriving next season. Regardless of the shuffling of other positions that may occur, the team can be confident in their future at second base.
Chase Meidroth isn’t quite Dustin Pedroia, who won an MVP and made four All-Star games… at least not yet. But an argument exists that Meidroth should’ve been an All-Star this season, and another year of improvement could have him in the conversation as one of the best second basemen in baseball. Hopefully, his performance in 2026 will be rewarded with some hardware.
Add us as a preferred source on Google