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IL Worcester Red Sox

Chase Meidroth's Ascension Through the Minor Leagues

June 28, 2024 - International League (IL)
Worcester Red Sox News Release


There are few people who spend more time on-base than Chase Meidroth.

In fact, the Red Sox No. 17 prospect according to MLB Pipeline gets on base more than just about anyone in baseball. Meidroth's .446 OBP entering Friday is the fourth highest in the sport--including MLB and MiLB. He is tied with Aaron Judge for the second most walks (60) in baseball and is only behind Juan Soto (68).

"He just doesn't swing unless you throw it over, simply put," said WooSox manager Chad Tracy.

Meidroth has been penciled into the leadoff spot in all but 11 starts and has created run-scoring opportunities for Nick Sogard, Niko Kavadas, Nick Yorke, and the rest of Worcester's lineup all season long. Controlling the strike zone is a rare trait for a 22-year-old making his way through the minor leagues. Yet, it's Meidroth's most valuable skill, and one that translates in every league.

Born in Torrance, California, Meidroth attended the University of San Diego where he played 75 games over three years. In 2022, the infielder was selected to the All-WCC First Team where he led the team in walks (40) and notched a hit in 44 of 56 games--with 24 being multi-hit efforts.

Before being selected by the Red Sox in the fourth round of the 2022 MLB Draft, Meidroth was not a highly touted prospect. With just average bat speed and a relatively small stature, his in-game power was not expected to improve. Though he can play most infield positions, Meidroth's limited range and average arm strength best suit him for second base.

The California product was the prototypical safe draft pick--a college bat with a sound approach that might make it to the big leagues.

Now, it's no longer a matter of if he'll get the call, but when.

Entering Friday's game against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Meidroth is hitting .292/.446/.386 with nearly twice the number of walks as strikeouts. His 1.82 walk-to-strikeout ratio ranks second in all of baseball behind Javier Sanoja of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp--who has drawn 23 walks and struck out only 11 times in 56 games. In comparison, Mookie Betts (1.38) leads MLB in the category.

For Meidorth, it's not just that he's taking his walks. He is seeing so many pitches that the opposing pitcher needs to throw his entire arsenal at him just to get to the next hitter.

"If I can work a count where I'm seeing eight, nine, ten pitches, that's a win for me because I'm setting the guys up behind me," Meidroth said. "Now he's on deck and he's seen every pitch."

Hitting a baseball is already the most difficult thing to do in sports--making what Meidroth does at the plate that much more important for the guys behind him. When an opposing pitcher is tired and has nothing new to throw, a hitter's job becomes that much easier.

While Meidroth doesn't see eight pitches every at-bat, he does see more than every MLB hitter. During his 31-game on-base streak that snapped on Tuesday, the 22-year-old saw a mean of 4.58 pitches per plate appearance. The major league average this year is 3.87, with Justin Turner leading all big league hitters at 4.53 pitches per plate appearance.

In the WooSox 14-1 win in Buffalo on June 13, Meidroth went to the plate six times. He saw 44 pitches--good for a 7.33 average that day.

"It's not just the walks, it's what he can do when he gets to two strikes," Tracy said. "In this case, he's at two strikes and [opposing pitchers] are throwing him tough pitches around the fringes of the zone, and he'll just stand there fouling them off...You can't overstate what he does for a lineup."

Though seeing pitches and drawing walks are not the only qualities that make a big league hitter great, they are common traits that hitters try to develop over the course of their careers. It is incredibly rare that a 22-year-old at Triple-A is already one of the best in baseball--and only getting better.

Thus far in his second full professional season, Meidroth has raised his average from .271 to .292 and his OBP from .408 to .446. Perhaps most impressive, the infielder has lowered his K% from 19.9% to 10.8%. Entering Friday's slate of games, the Red Sox are striking out 24.8% of the time.

"He walks more than he strikes out, which is incredible for Triple-A," Red Sox Director of Player Development Brian Abraham said. "A focus of his is really impacting the baseball to the pull-side. He's probably a little bit on the smaller side, but again, adding strength and adding good weight will help his bat speed."

Meidroth has only played 199 minor league games. He is not a finished product, and it will be years before he is. But, his development and early success are encouraging signs for a Red Sox organization in the early stages of building their next young core at the major league level.

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