KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When the Chicago White Sox reassigned Chase Meidroth to minor-league camp late in spring training, they sent the infielder to Triple A with the goal of becoming a little more aggressive.
“In spring training he was taking a lot of pitches and at the big-league level, you can’t get behind a lot,” Sox hitting coach Marcus Thames said on Sunday at Rate Field. “But he took that down to Charlotte and applied it in his game and his approach has been solid since he’s been here. He knows what he’s doing, knows what he’s trying to do.”
Meidroth led off Friday’s game against the Houston Astros with a single. He later scored on a double by Edgar Quero.
Meidroth had another single and scored again in the first inning of Saturday’s contest.
“He does well with his scouting reports and stuff like that, and he’ll come back to the dugout and say, ‘the ball isn’t doing this or doing that,’” Thames said. “Wise (beyond) his years. He’s doing a great job.”
Meidroth has a .273 average and a .396 on-base percentage. He has reached base safely in 12 of his first 13 games with a plate appearance, including reaching twice in four of his five games since being reinstated from the injured list on Thursday.
He began Monday’s game with a single to center and went 1-for-4 in the 3-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals in front of 12,529 at Kauffman Stadium.
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The Sox had a tough time against Royals starter Cole Ragans, who struck out 11 in five innings.
“It’s one of those days you have to tip your cap to the pitcher and just continue to battle,” said third baseman Miguel Vargas, who went 1-for-4.
Sox starter Shane Smith pitched well in the loss, allowing two runs on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks in five-plus innings.
Smith said going forward, he wants to continue to focus on making “pitches when it counts.”
“That’s really what it comes down to,” he said. “You can be really good through three innings, but if you’re not good in four, five, six, it doesn’t really matter.”
The Royals scored once in the fourth and fifth innings against Smith. They added a run in the eighth against Caleb Freeman, who struck out one (Salvador Perez) in his big-league debut.
“We’ll get a zero next time,” Freeman said.
The Sox (10-25) were blanked for the fourth time this year. They had six hits, starting with the leadoff single by Meidroth.
Meidroth, who was called up on April 11, said the words from the coaches have resonated.
“They’ve got all the confidence in the world in me and that makes life a lot easier,” Meidroth told the Tribune before Monday’s game. “A big part of hitting is confidence. Just getting in there and talking, what’s the plan today and go out there and trust myself to get stuff done.”
Meidroth is one of the recently called-up players who is making an impact. Quero is another.
The catcher, who had the go-ahead hit in the sixth inning of Sunday’s rain-shortened 5-4 win against the Astros, has a .314 batting average and .417 on-base percentage after going 0-for-4 on Monday.
“It’s good when you have guys who are going to put the ball in play,” Thames said. “Nothing can happen if the ball doesn’t go forward, so it’s good for these guys to come up and inject some of that, you know, not swing-and-miss stuff in the lineup. It’s been good, man.
“Hopefully, it can continue to be contagious, and the offense can get rolling a bit more.”
Thames was the hitting coach for the Los Angeles Angels when Quero was coming through their minor-league system. The Sox acquired the catcher as part of a trade that sent pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López to the Angels in 2023. He made his big-league debut on April 17.
“He’s always been the same, his heartbeat is so slow and nothing speeds up on him,” Thames said. “And he’s kind of like Meidroth, pretty wise (beyond) his years. And he’s going to give you a good (at-bat). He’s not going to chase much. He knows the zone, he’s not going to try to do too much. And he makes adjustments right away off the pitcher.
“He was doing that in Double A, Triple A and even now out here.”
That steadiness was on display in the sixth inning at-bat that resulted in the go-ahead RBI single on Sunday.
“I’ve been in these moments a couple times in my career, in the minor leagues,” Quero said after Sunday’s game. “I like to be in those moments. Sometimes I’m going to be good, sometimes I’m going to maybe not do the job. But I’m not scared of being in those moments. I like those moments.”
Manager Will Venable has been impressed with the approach from Meidroth and Quero.
“There’s real substance to what they’re doing to where you know that, obviously, there’s going to be days where you’re not feeling great, you’re banged up and your swing isn’t right. But the way they go about it, it’s the substance, that thing, the quality of their approach that you expect to be there every day,” Venable said on Monday. “That type of skill set is something that can really stay consistent throughout the year. It’s just nice to have in your lineup every day.”
Injury updates
Andrew Benintendi did not play Monday as he continues to recover from left calf tightness. The left fielder exited Sunday’s game in the sixth inning.
“(He’s) better today, but still day to day,” Venable said. “We’ll give him the day today and then see where we’re at tomorrow.”
Pitcher Jesse Scholtens is beginning a rehab assignment on Tuesday with High-A Winston-Salem. The right-hander is making his way back after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March 2024.