White Sox rookie review: Danny Mendick

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, but they weren’t the only rookies on the team.

Danny Mendick was a September call-up in 2019, but remained a rookie in 2020. He ended up playing enough this year to surpass the rookie eligibility threshold before our midseason prospect rankings.

RELEVANT STATS
Regular season: .243/.281/.383, 3 HR, 6 BB, 25 K, 0/1 SB (114 PA)

Mendick made the Opening Day roster as a utility infielder. He’s a solid defender who can play second base, third base and shortstop. He hit enough in the minors to warrant a shot and impressed with a .787 OPS in 40 September plate appearances last year.

A slew of injuries thrust Mendick into more playing time. For starters, Nick Madrigal wasn’t on the Opening Day roster for service time reasons. On top of that Nomar Mazara missed the first nine games of the season, pushing Leury Garcia to outfield duty instead of second base. That combination gave Mendick a pair of starts in the first week.

Then, just one game after Madrigal debuted, Tim Anderson got hurt seven games into the season and missed a week and a half. That gave Mendick a string of time at shortstop. Then, four days later, Madrigal went down with a shoulder injury and missed 21 games. Also, Garcia tore a ligament in his thumb on August 10 and missed the rest of the regular season.

That combination made Mendick an everyday starter for the month of August. It was a great opportunity for him to prove he could be valuable to a major league team, while also giving him a somewhat extended look at big league pitching.

It went well for a while. From August 5 to August 28, Mendick started every game and hit .300/.333/.514 in 75 plate appearances. He even showed good power with eight extra base hits, including three home runs. Then, Madrigal returned and things went south.

Madrigal came back August 29. Mendick sat out that day before getting some action while Yoan Moncada was nursing an injury. Madrigal was the fourth pick in the 2018 draft and went 7-for-13 in his first three games back. He wasn’t losing the second base job to Mendick.

Whether it was mental or pitchers simply adjusting to him at that time, Mendick slumped the rest of the season. He played in only five games in September, and started only three. From the day Madrigal returned from injury to the end of the season, Mendick went 4-for-24 (.167) with no walks and no extra base hits to go with seven strikeouts.

Overall, his numbers look modest, although passable for a utility player. However, in his only stint as an everyday starter Mendick was effective. Could he be an effective everyday major leaguer over the course of a full season? You can make that argument, but unless there are significant injuries like we saw this year, he won’t get that chance with the White Sox. Moncada, Anderson and Madrigal are cornerstones going forward.

Interestingly, Mendick has been more effective vs. right-handed pitching (.760 OPS) than against lefties (.567 OPS) in his MLB career. The sample size isn’t significant yet, but the Sox could use someone like that.

Mendick will have a job in 2021, but it’s going to be as a bench and fill-in player. It will be interesting to see how he does if he gets another extended run in the lineup.

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.