Sometimes, it’s good for a young player to take a step back.
For White Sox rookie Chase Meidroth, he used his stint on the 10-day IL recovering from right thumb inflammation to “watch the game the right way.”
“Just certain plays you kind of watch and it helps you for the next time,” said Meidroth, who returned to the lineup Thursday against the Brewers. “It’s almost like if you watch it the right way, it’s almost like you are playing. I did that in college; for two years, I sat. So, you kind of just watch the game and learn a lot. Even in college, those two years helped me learn the game and learn for the next three years of playing.”
Meidroth was originally anticipated to return this weekend, but he said he felt good swinging on Wednesday. Meidroth has been able to field and participate in most physical activity while injured, but he struggled to grip a bat. With a successful day hitting, he was ready to go.
“It feels great,” Meidroth said. “I’ve been waiting for this day for 10 days. I’m excited.”
Meidroth said he’ll wear a thumb guard for the rest of the season, but that the injury is behind him.
In his absence, Meidroth said he was able to learn not only from his coaches and teammates but also from other teams. He mentioned Brent Rooker and Christian Yelich as players he observed, noting their approaches as something he studied.
“Seeing how some of the [other teams] … you watch guys like some of the best players in the game like Yelich … and we had a chance to go to Sacramento and Rooker and guys like that, you watch them and how they go about their business and how they take their at-bats and how they play the game and how they get down the line,” Meidroth said. “You can learn a lot as a young guy from doing that.”
That is a glimpse into Meidroth’s mindset. He started off his major-league career in style, reaching base safely in seven of his first eight career games. He also broke up former White Sox All-Star Garrett Crochet’s no-hitter in the eighth inning of the Sox’ April 13 loss to 3-1 loss to Boston.
But Meidroth is looking for any edge he can pick up on to improve. Entering Thursday’s game, Meidroth was batting .269/.387/.269 with a .656 OPS. Manager Will Venable said he wants Meidroth to “continue doing what he’s been doing.” But he also offered up some advice for the youngster: Be more aggressive.
“If there’s one thing that I’ve been on him about is just letting it loose in the heart of the plate more and being more aggressive at times,” Venable said. “At the same time, that’s just in his DNA to be a selective hitter. I don’t want to change who he is, but I think in time, he’ll learn that he needs to be aggressive and get some good swings off early in the count on pitches over the heart.”
Part of Meidroth’s hitting profile is that he has a keen eye at the plate and rarely swings on pitches outside of the zone. Entering Thursday’s play, Meidroth had a 16.1% walk rate and a 12.9% strikeout rate. His 19.1% chase rate was well below the MLB average (28.5), but Venable believes there’s more pop in Meidroth’s bat.
“We saw it in camp,” Venable said. “We’ve seen it in the past in the minor leagues with him. So it’s in there.