THE MOST UNDERRATED RED SOX PROSPECT MIGHT GET HIS SHOT SOON

In the fourth round of the 2022 MLB draft, the Red Sox selected a college middle infielder out of the University of San Diego. Almost immediately, the pick felt underwhelming, unnecessary, and redundant.

The Red Sox already had Xander Bogaerts, who seemed likely to re-sign with the team and remain in Boston for life. They also had Trevor Story, who just signed a six-year, $140 million dollar contract a few months earlier. In addition to this, each of their first two selections in the 2022 draft (Mikey Romero at 24th overall and Cutter Coffey at 41st overall) also played shortstop. And on top of all that, just one year earlier, the Red Sox managed to grab super prospect and shortstop Marcelo Mayer with the 4th overall pick in 2021.

So why in the world would they need something called a Chase Meidroth?

Well, baseball continues to be a cruel and unpredictable mistress. Bogaerts is gone from the organization, Story is gone for the year, and no other prospects are even close to being ready yet. Simply put, the team has a gaping hole in the middle infield! Five different guys have already played shortstop (most of them poorly) just 23 games into the season, and the Sox are getting a sub .500 OPS output from second base.

So if anybody in the middle infield over at Triple-A Worcester can play some solid baseball, they might get a look sooner rather than later. Now, the most obvious middle infield name in Worcester right now is Vaughn Grissom, who was acquired in the Chris Sale trade, got hurt early in Spring Training, and has started a rehab assignment there. He’s undoubtedly first in line.

But with the way things are going, the Red Sox might have to reach deeper into that well in the coming weeks; and guess who else is in Triple-A Worcester right now and has already played multiple games at second base, third base, and shortstop this year?

Yep! Our boy Chase Meidroth!

So now that he’s made it this far, we should probably get to know him a little better. Let’s see what the wonderful folks over at Sox Prospects have to say about him:

Physical Description: Smaller, undersized frame. Limited athleticism. Minimal remaining projection. Does not have the typical look of a baseball player.

Yikes!

How does he move though? Maybe he can run?

Run: Below-average speed. Solid instincts, but not the most fluid runner. Has the type of body that could cause him to get slower as he matures.

Ouch!

Does he at least have some sneaky pop in the bat?

Power: Below-average power potential. Not a major part of his game. Swing is designed for line drives in the gap. Produces fringy exit velocities that do not lend to considerable over-the-fence power.

Okay, this isn’t looking good.

He doesn’t possess any of the flashy tools, doesn’t have a set position, and can’t mash the ball.

Ah, now we’re in Chase Meidroth’s wheelhouse!

When he gets in the batter’s box, he’s a professional pain in the ass to deal with for whichever pitcher happens to be on the mound. He rarely gets himself out, and often drags out at-bats long enough to force his opponent into making a mistake.

At first, this looked like a cute trick that would only work on lower level minor leaguers, but now, it’s a skill he’s proven to be so good at, it might just outweigh everything else.

He got on base four more times on Sunday in a 7-1 win over the Durham Bulls, and raised his on base percentage on the season to .463!

That mark is so good, it gives Meidroth the lead in on base percentage among qualified hitters anywhere in the entire Sox organization in 2024. For reference, Tyler O’Neill is second on this list with a .459 OBP, and we all know how hot he’s been to start the year (he’s third in all of MLB in OBP among guys with over 60 plate appearances).

And this isn’t a fluke start to just this season for Meidroth. He’s has always had a knack for getting on base way more often than it looks like he should given the scouting reports.

When he was first drafted in 2022, the Sox sent him to Low-A Salem where he posted a .424 OBP in just 85 plate appearances. So they rewarded him by starting his 2023 journey in High-A Greenville, where he posted an even more remarkable .495 OBP in 97 plate appearances. This prompted a promotion to Portland, where he did cool down some and post a still solid, but less eye popping .386 OBP.

Now, he’s playing in Worcester to start 2024, and he’s rocking that .463 OBP in his first 67 plate appearances. Add it all up, and in 656 minor league plate appearances, he gets on base 41.8 percent of the time!

Not surprisingly, he’s also molded himself into one of those batters who walks almost as much as he strikes out. He now has 110 minor league walks to just 116 strike outs, making him a guy opposing pitchers hate facing simply for being annoying.

Oh, and Meidroth isn’t some guy doing this at an old age for his level either. He’s still only 22, and he’s proving to be an on base machine while gaining footing just one rung below the top of the baseball ladder. This is very quickly becoming a positive situation that demands attention.

Defensively, while not flashy, he now has 49 games at second base, 68 at third, and 23 at shortstop in his minor league career, and he’s made just nine errors. He likely projects mostly at second if he ever does manage to stick in the Majors, but still, even if a fraction of the on base ability translates, he’s an easy to root for utility guy, who seems to be able to make the basic plays.

Now comes perhaps the hardest step. Meidroth has never been highly touted, so he’s always had to outwork and outbattle the guys around him. So far, it’s worked really well for him, but the fear is that at some point, he’s going to run into pitchers with such amazing stuff, it will overwhelm and break his ability to grind out at bats. If that happens, his most valuable skillset collapses and he turns back into a pumpkin.

With limited muscle, Major League pitchers will likely attack him directly, fearlessly pounding the strike zone under the impression Meidroth can’t burn them with home run power. In order to counteract this, Meidroth either needs to develop a little more extra base pop, or just prove to be so ridiculously good at wasting even Major League quality strikes, that he can still make his high OBP thing work at the highest level.

Either way, he’s already made this work much longer than most people thought possible. Now, he’s getting close enough to the big leagues at a moment where the middle infield is such a disaster, he’s likely going to get his shot sometime in the next few months.

With that, I think Chase has earned some good vibes, so let’s end this with his first ever Triple-A home run from last week:

With a little more development, maybe we’ll see one of those Over The Monster in Boston soon?

2024-04-23T10:57:48Z dg43tfdfdgfd