Chicago White Sox

I watched a lot of Meidroth videos last night. His swing is short and quick and I think he hits the ball a bit harder than he’s probably given credit for. Don’t get me wrong, he has below average power but his hard hit rate and average EV in AAA was middle of the pack. The biggest issue for him is that his launch angle is very low and he chops a bunch of balls into the ground. If he can find a way to turn more of those into line drives, I think he can eventually be a much more impactful hitter than you’re thinking. And for the record, Steamer 600 is projecting a slash line of .242/.356/.701, so they agree with you on the BABIP regression coming to the majors. But given the high OBP, that slash is still worth a 107 wRC+ despite a very low ISO. And that’s for him as a 23 year old rookie. If he can be close to an average defender at 2B, then that’s probably a 2 win player. That is the part I’m most uncertain about, but he looked pretty solid out there in the videos I saw even though his range will certainly be limited but probably fine for 2B.

That video above said he had a game in which he had six plate appearance plate and took 45 fucking pitches. That’s 7.5 pitches on average. Again, I’m not kidding when I say this kid is a unicorn. He’s going to be a very untraditional leadoff hitter who will do his damage by working up pitch counts like crazy, constantly getting on base, and putting stress on the opposing pitcher.

I mean, look at this dude. Just a pure American athlete whose mix of elite plate discipline and bat to ball skills make him a legit unicorn. If he can replicate that +.400 OBP in the majors, it would put him in a small of group mega-stars of just Aaron Judge & Juan Soto. And while he doesn’t have the power that those two do, he makes up for it with heart and drive that few others actually possess.

He is an exciting prospect no doubt, but he’s no Meidroth though.

Meidroth’s Steamer 600 projection is 3.1 fWAR, 71st highest amongst all position players.

I think would trade Crochet for Meidroth straight up.

You need at least one 50 FV or higher positional prospect to even consider moving Robert right now and that would be selling low if you have any faith he will return to his 2023 form. I could see someone offering that too, just not sure if Getz will bite on that or not. I think if that player were a SS or CF with some actual ceiling (which is probably more a 55 FV type) then it would be harder for Getz to say no to, but that could be hard to come by. Like I wouldn’t turn Justin Crawford straight up for Robert right now but unlikely Dombrowski would offer that right now even though Luis is exactly what they need.

Chase Meidroth is going to be a fan favorite on the South Side. Just such a weird, unique player. I can’t honestly come up with one comp for him. But if he can get on base at an elite clip, he’s 100% an everyday guy you can slot at the top of your lineup and just create nightmares for the opposing team. He doesn’t have a ton of raw power, but I do like his compact swing and I can see him impacting the ball just enough to be an everyday 2B. I don’t even want to highlight his Steamer 600 projection because it’s pretty insane.

The Sox are going to sign some more free agents, so some of these guys will be cast aside anyways.

I kind of feel like Robert will get dealt. Getz said interest really picked up during the winter meetings and while he has an obvious incentive to lie it did feel legit. I guess we will find out in the coming weeks.

It was a much weaker return from the start, but Iriarte was a borderline top 100 prospect for some publications and Zavala was a consensus top 10 org guy with upside. And I don’t think the “Yankees prospect boost” when he was traded for Juan Soto.

You’re literally ripping people for saying we lost the trade because it’s too early and then saying we won the trade. Don’t think you can have it both ways.

I think this is all fair, but in this environment to get legit top 25/30 and top 60/70 positional prospects plus two interesting 45 FV guys is solid. And to be fair, Teel is an up the middle talent, just not an obvious spot of need for us. There is plenty of time to work through the roster construction, but I agree, where our next SS (if it’s not Colson) & CF comes from will be interesting.

It’s possible…will be interesting to hear Getz’s comments on this. He must have some high level plan for all this, although he may not want to reveal it all just yet.

One other thing worth highlighting is that it’s now abundantly clear that Getz values guys who are disciplined and draw walks. Here is a list of guys he’s acquired in his major trades and their BB rates prior to that: Zavala: 19.4% in A (Y23) Vargas: 19.9% in AAA Perez: 13.7% in A Albertus: 18.9% in CPX Teel: 16.3% in AAA Montgomery: 15.2% in College Meidroth: 18.8% in AAA

Looks like their little “we’re going to trade for Cease” bluff didn’t work out.

He’s currently ranked 8th in their system which includes at least six top 100 prospects, so not sure how much higher you would expect him. That being said, his ceiling is limited as he doesn’t have a ton of power and isn’t a great defender (and probably not a real SS). But dude has elite plate discipline and good bat to ball skills, so should be a high BA / high OBP type. To me that, that offensive profile can work at the top of a lineup, even if he’s limited to 2B.

I’m not complaining about the trade, but two starting caliber catchers isn’t going to help us when we have massive holes in CF, SS, etc. But for now, I’m just happy he got quality positional talent and we can worry about roster construction later.

He was their #7 prospect heading into 2024 per BA. He may have regressed this past season, but he’s still young and likely a guy that Bannister had his eye on. He’s the perfect dart throw as the fourth piece in a deal like this.

He probably needs some time in AAA, but should have a 2025 ETA of some sorts.

That’s the only part I dislike. A plus bat at C doesn’t make a plus bat at 1B and right now we’ll forcing one of those guys to 1B a bunch if they both pan out.

Teel is generally seen as a top 20 prospect, so not a ton of guys out there who would be higher regarded.

Mayer instead of Teel would have reflected a perfect trade, but the overall value here is really solid.

Yeah, Teel is a fantastic prospect, but don’t love the fit with Quero. That being said, we needed to get the best package of positional talent possible for Crochet and this is a surprisingly really good deal. Montgomery was essential as the #2 piece given how their system stacks up and our desperate need for OF talent. The last two pieces are legitimate prospects who have a chance of being real contributors and possibly very soon. I hate to say it, but Getz appears to have delivered here.

Oh f*** yes if true…Getz is the GOAT again