How Chase Meidroth has quietly become White Sox' most improved player in 2026

The 2026 Chicago White Sox are one of the best stories in baseball. On the heels of three-straight 100-loss seasons, the White Sox find themselves in first place in the American League Central at 61-56 entering Tuesday’s action. They’re looking to become the first team in baseball history to lose 100 games, then win their division the next year. It’s taken contributions from up and down the roster, with breakout seasons coming from rookies like Munetaka Murakami and Sam Antonacci as well as experienced young players like Miguel Vargas and Sean Burke. But perhaps the biggest improvement from any player on the roster this season has come from someone more unheralded. 

The White Sox acquired infielder Chase Meidroth as a piece of the trade that sent Garrett Crochet to Boston. Meidroth posted strong numbers with the Red Sox organization, but was largely considered the third piece of the deal behind Kyle Teel and Braden Montgomery. Meidroth began his White Sox career in Charlotte but didn’t stay there long before being promoted to make his big league debut on April 11th. Meidroth reached base four times in his big league debut, but his first season as a whole was a bit of a mixed bag. He didn’t show much power but got on base at a solid rate. In 122 games, Meidroth slashed .253/.329/.320 with five home runs and a .649 OPS. 

The White Sox penciled in Meidroth as their starting second baseman for the 2026 season, but with prospects like Sam Antonacci, Caleb Bonemer, and now Roch Cholowsky in tow, there seemed to be a pressure on Meidroth to improve or risk not having a role moving forward. Meidroth has quietly answered those questions in 2026. 

Chase Meidroth has answered all questions about his role in the White Sox' future

In 113 games so far this season, Meidroth is slashing .274/.350/.404 with a .754 OPS. He’s launched 11 home runs, more than doubling his 2025 total with 45 games to play. In an effort to generate more power, Meidroth has struck out more this season, but it hasn’t hurt his on-base percentage, which is up 31 points from a season ago. On defense, Meidroth has accrued 6 OAA this season after posting 2 all of last year, so his improvement hasn’t only come on the offensive side of the ball. He’s been one of the most valuable players on the roster and done so extremely quietly. Meidroth enters Tuesday with 3.0 fWAR on the season, the second-highest mark on the team behind only Miguel Vargas. 

In terms of year-to-year improvement, there’s nobody in the White Sox lineup who’s seen a bigger jump in OPS than Meidroth. Even Vargas, who has garnered a ton of attention for his breakout and even made the All-Star team, hasn’t seen the jump Meidroth has in his OPS. 

With Bonemer and Cholowsky likely to impact the White Sox in 2027, Meidroth’s breakout raises an interesting question moving forward. That’s not an issue the White Sox need to deal with now, however, and the full focus for this season should be on fielding a team capable of winning the World Series. Chase Meidroth has taken a massive step forward this season, and he’s going to be a big part of the playoff push.

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