Despite there being no minor league season in 2020, there were a significant number of White Sox prospects who made big strides. The White Sox had 12 players make their MLB debuts. We are taking a look back at how they fared and what it means for their future. We’ve done all pitchers since Luis Robert was up first. Now we’re back to hitters with Nick Madrigal.
RELEVANT STATS
Regular season: .340/.376/.369, 4 BB, 7 K, 2/3 SB (109 PA)
Postseason: .250/.250/.250, 0 BB, 0 K (12 PA)
When it was announced that Nick Madrigal would not make the Opening Day roster in 2020, no one doubted that he would be shortly after. Apparently, even in a pandemic-shortened season, service time was still a thing. A day after Chris Getz told media at the Schaumburg training facility that Madrigal was close to being called up, the White Sox purchased the contract of their No. 4 prospect and brought him to the big leagues to face the Kansas City Royals.
AS ADVERTISED
Madrigal started his major league career 0-for-8, going hitless in his first two games, while displaying polished, Gold Glove caliber defense at second base. He notched his first four big league hits all in the same game, a Sunday affair at Kauffman Stadium. Madrigal went 4-for-5 in the ballgame, hitting four singles to further cement his status as a low-power, high contact hitter.
It was the start of what should have been a very good rookie campaign for Madrigal, had he not injured himself just days later. On August 4, Madrigal slid into third in a game against the Brewers. He popped up in pain and was taken out of the game, as it later turned out he separated his shoulder on the play.
Two days later the White Sox placed him on the Injured List, which obviously cut into his season significantly.
Madrigal was out for a little over three weeks, and returned to the diamond on August 28. The shoulder was not fully healed, and the 23-year-old had surgery after the season to stabilize the shoulder. For the time being, however, he would play through it.
OFFENSE VS. DEFENSE
Whether it was the shoulder or the rookie jitters, Madrigal did not look too comfortable outside of the batter’s box going forward. His baserunning was subpar (FanGraphs marks it at a whopping -4.7 BsR), as fans saw the young infielder TOOTBLAN multiple times. His defense also suffered a little, as evidenced by his four errors in 110 chances, as well as a below league average range factor per 9 innings, range factor per game and fielding percentage.
The defensive struggles were on full display in the postseason. In Game 2 of the Wild Card series against Oakland, Madrigal was charged with two errors, the first one leading to two runs in the first inning of a game that was eventually lost. Let’s not talk about that any more than necessary.
Fortunately for Madrigal, he continued to do the other thing he was known for prior to and after being drafted by the White Sox: he hit and he did not strike out. After returning from IL, he had multi-hit games in 10 of his 23 games and he went hitless a mere five times. His longest 0-fer streak was an 0-for-6 in two games against Minnesota. Thanks to his knack for putting the bat on the ball, Madrigal finished the season with a more than serviceable .340/.376/.369 triple slash.
STRIKE ZONE CONTROL
He reeled off a seven-game hitting streak and a nine-game on-base streak in the process, and finished the regular season with an above average wRC+ of 113. He showed above average grasp of the strike zone, and proved capable of hitting the ball from almost every zone quadrant. From the swing profile below we can deduce that outside pitches are not yet Madrigal’s strength, though he is very capable of taking those pitches opposite field, as evidenced by his above league average 33.3% opposite field hits.
CONTACT WIZARD
Just how good was Madrigal at making contact? Really good. Pitches in the zone he swung on, he made contact with 93.1% of the time, up 10.3% from MLB’s average. He chased pitches at a 25.9% clip, a few ticks under MLB’s league average, but still made contact with pitches he chased at a whopping 80%. MLB’s league average? 59.4%. Madrigal’s whiff percentage in his first cup of coffee in the majors was a tiny 10.8%, less than half off of MLB’s average of 24.5%.
Madrigal chases pitches slightly more frequently than his peers do on average, but the sky-high contact rate on chased pitches works in his favor. While most of his swing/take statistics hover around league average, it’s the combination of more contact and more swings on pitches in the chase zone that led to a positive run value for Madrigal in his first ‘full’ season in the majors.
Sure, he will not set the world on fire in the exit velocity department, and he registered a 0.0% in solid contact% and barrel%. That is not great in a vacuum, but in a lineup filled with power bats (such as the White Sox’), Madrigal’s offensive profile fits like a glove.
SURGERY AND NEXT SEASON
Madrigal’s season ended as the White Sox’ did: in Oakland and with a bad aftertaste. On the bright side, the longer offseason gives the infielder time to recover from his shoulder injury. The Sox got ahead of the curve by making Madrigal undergo surgery to repair and stabilize the shoulder. The surgery puts him on a five-to-six month rehab schedule. As Rick Hahn stated during his end-of-season press conference: this makes it possible that Madrigal is not ready in time for Spring Training.
Assuming that everything goes well with his rehab, it is safe to pencil Madrigal in as Chicago’s starting second baseman in 2021. If he can build on his 2020, there is no reason why he could not become a staple in the lineup going forward.
Photo credit: Sean Williams/FutureSox
Want to know right away when we publish a new article? Type your email address in the box on the right-side bar (or at the bottom on a mobile device) and click create subscription. Our list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time. Also, consider supporting FutureSox on Patreon! You can get early access to special articles and Patreon-only posts, in addition to more benefits.
Shop our exclusive merchandise! Show your support with FutureSox apparel.
For the fans, writers and pundits who continue to despair of his “singles only, no power, but good defense” profile, Ive got two words for y’all: Nellie Fox.
Oh, and virtually NO strikeouts. That combination seemed to work just fine for an aforementioned Hall of Famer.
Nick Madrigal had a solid MLB debut all things considered, particularly in light of playing through a left shoulder issue. There is no reason for his high contact hitting ability to regress which should translate into Madrigal being a perennial contender for the AL Batting Title. I would also expect some increase in his power production with full health and more experience facing MLB pitching. That doesn’t necessarily mean double digit HR’s but should at least result in more doubles and triples. The experience factor should also add to Madrigal increasing his BB’s while maintaining his low K rate. Madrigal is also the type of smart hitter who should benefit exponentially from the adoption of the robo strike zone when it gets implemented in the near future, likely in time for the next CBA. Experience and coaching should also lead to an increase in his SB numbers with a higher percentage of successful attempts. His base running gaffs should also subside.
Madrigal also figures to become a perennial contender for the AL Gold Glove Award based on his skill set, past career performance as an amateur and professional along with more experience. His comfort level with a sometimes erratic but improved Tim Anderson should also factor in positively. His shoulder issue likely contributed to his defensive issues down the stretch.
Madrigal’s contact ability is a breath of fresh air in today’s game of big swings and too many misses. He’s a throwback player who reminds elder White Sox fans like myself of Nellie Fox and some even older of Luke Appling. Those two HOF White Sox players also lacked power and neither possessed the SB potential that Madrigal has. For somewhat younger MLB fans, a good conservative comp of Madrigal might be former Yankee 2B Willie Randolph. For much younger fans and with an increase in power perhaps Madrigal might emulate the numbers of Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia.
I’m convinced that the White Sox have a special player in Madrigal. It will be interesting to see how he is utilized by the new White Sox manager. I’m more old school and would love to see Madrigal eventually installed as the White Sox #2 hitter. His offensive skills reflect those of the traditional and prototypical number two man, especially if the White Sox install a legitimate 30+ SB player in the leadoff spot which could potentially happen with Tim Anderson, Luis Robert or perhaps their next RF.
He seems like he would be a good #2 hitter except he hits too many grounders up the middle. With a runner on first base the 2nd baseman will be playing close to second base. There will be too many double plays.
I have no reservations about Madrigal’s ability to become a superior traditional #2 hitter with his elite contact skills and high baseball IQ. As another throwback HOF player ‘Wee Willie’ Keeler famously said, “Keep your eye clear, and hit ’em where they ain’t”.
He needs to break out Nellies bottle bat! He is a perfect fit for our free swinging sluggers. Let’s get him moved to the number 2 hole and let him lead the league in runs scored.