Frank Menechino, a 45th round selection of the Chicago White Sox in 1993, is working in his inaugural season as the organization’s hitting coach. Menechino, who played seven years in the big leagues with Oakland and Toronto, spent 2019 as the Charlotte Knights’ hitting coach, following his release from the Miami Marlins in 2018.
In a Saturday Zoom call, Menechino told reporters he believed the three-month quarantine helped right-handed hitting Nick Madrigal with his strength. The jump in mass from his first year as a professional compared to now is noticeable.
“Coming out of college, going into a pro season, then an offseason, and then his first full season – he looks really good,” Menechino said. “He’s a lot stronger. I’m proud of the work that he’s done in these three months. I can tell he worked his butt off.”
Typically, the first two thoughts to pop in one’s head when seeing or hearing “Nick Madrigal” are he doesn’t strike out and will he develop power?
MLB hitters set a record in 2019 by striking out just over 23 percent of the time. Madrigal’s career K rate is 3 percent.
His power, meanwhile, is trending upward.
Madrigal played a bulk of 2019 in the Southern League following his promotion from Winston-Salem. Across 42 games and 180 plate appearances from June 6 to August 1, the fourth overall pick of 2018 accumulated a career best .851 OPS and .451 slugging percentage.
He notched 11 doubles, two triples and one home run while striking out just five times (2.8% K rate) and drawing 14 walks (7.8% BB rate) in his first stint in Double-A. An August promotion had Madrigal complete the remaining 29 games of his schedule with Menechino in Triple-A Charlotte.
Madrigal finished his first full season slashing .311/.377/.414 (.792 OPS) with 27 doubles, five triples and four home runs, while totaling 16 strikeouts and 44 walks in 120 games. He also stole 35 of 48 attempted bases (73%).
Madrigal’s profile generates unique perspectives from experts like Keith Law, Jim Callis, Kiley McDaniel and Emily Waldon. Remaining consistent among nearly every scouting report is his uncanny ability to make contact.
Ben Lindbergh of The Ringer highlighted Madrigal’s contact rate in 2019. Madrigal swung at 828 of the 1,745 pitches he saw last season and made contact on 94.8 percent of his swings. Among qualifiers who saw a minimum of 1,000 pitches last year, the Sox prospect stood atop the list by producing nearly 4.0 percent more contact than the next best player in the category.
“The gap of 3.7 percentage points between Madrigal and the second-place player—Cleveland’s Ernie Clement—was as wide as the gap between Clement and the 22nd-place player,” said Lindbergh.
MLB Pipeline assigned a 70-grade hit tool to Madrigal leading into 2020.
“He looks stronger, but I think he cleaned up his bat path so he’s barreling the ball more,” Menechino said.
Menechino highlighted the importance of Madrigal’s approach by saying “if he takes his walks and doesn’t chase,” then pitchers will be forced to pitch to him.
Madrigal’s 7.2 percent walk rate across his 163-game career is below Major League Baseball’s 2019 average of just over 8.0 percent. With improved strength, hard contact and discipline, Madrigal’s value can peak at the plate.
Photo credit: Clinton Cole/FutureSox
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