BOSTON — Red Sox second baseman Vaughn Grissom reacted with two words when informed that 22-prospect Chase Meidroth has 11 more walks (28) than strikeouts (17) for Triple-A Worcester this season.
“Oh wow,” Grissom said.
Meidroth, who plays second base, shortstop and third, is one of the most interesting hitters in the Red Sox system because of his excellent ability to reach base even when the hits aren’t falling. He has a .413 on-base percentage in 167 minor league games (738 plate appearances) since Boston drafted him in the fourth round out of San Diego in 2022.
The right-handed hitter led all Red Sox minor leaguers (minimum 290 plate appearances) in on-base percentage last season when he recorded a .408 mark in 493 plate appearances between High-A Greenville and Double-A Portland.
He has a .416 on-base percentage in 34 games (149 plate appearances) for Worcester this season.
Only two other hitters in the Red Sox system — Portland catcher/first baseman Mickey Gasper and Greenville first baseman/corner outfielder Eduardo Lopez — have more walks than strikeouts. Gasper has 19 walks and 13 strikeouts. Lopez has 16 walks and 10 strikeouts.
“The at-bat was what stood out the most (in spring training),” Red Sox hitting coach Peter Fatse said about Meidroth. “I just feel like he’s a guy who could navigate at-bats. He wasn’t afraid to hit with a strike on him. To me, he has a pretty good sense of who he is. Obviously the skillset is the skillset. But I think the level of confidence in that is really noteworthy to me.”
Meidroth ranks No. 14 on MassLive’s Top 25 Red Sox prospect list. Baseball America ranks him Boston’s No. 12 prospect. MLB Pipeline ranks him No. 17 in the system.
Extra-base power is one area that is lacking so far. He slugged .391 in 2023 and has just five extra-base hits (two homers, three doubles) this season. But Fatse is not worried about the lack of slug.
“The old saying of you come into your power later,” Fatse said. “I think whether that’s true or not … when you look across the league, slug will come in waves. So there’s points in times where there is a high degree of slug and then it kind of dips and there’s like this higher level of variance whereas on-base for me is something that kind of stays at the team level pretty consistent. So when you have a guy that’s able to get on base and impact your group that way, to a degree it’s kind of like speed never slumps. To that degree …. he’s always an at-bat away from getting on base. Getting hits is hard to do. But being in a position to get on base is very important.”
Meidroth certainly has an elite ability to reach base even when the hits aren’t there. His career on-base percentage (.413) is 138 points higher than his batting average (.275). He has almost as many walks (28) as hits (30) this season. He has 122 walks and 162 hits in pro ball.
He’s tied for the fifth most walks in the International League, six behind the leader (Anthony Prato, 34).
He leads all members of the Red Sox organization (majors and minors) in walks.
His strikeout rate of 11.4% and walk percentage of 18.8% are elite.
“That’s beautiful,” Grissom said about the walk rate. “That’s right where you want to be.”
Meidroth impressed Grissom when the Red Sox second baseman spent nine games on a rehab assignment with Worcester from April 12-May 2.
“Just his awareness of the zone and how hard he swings and at the same time being able to make solid contact, it’s pretty impressive,” Grissom said. “I know he did some of that Driveline stuff. … His bat whips to the zone. He’s able to check off balls pretty early.”
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Meidroth focused on his approach while playing in the Northwoods League (summer collegiate league) in 2021. He batted .345 with a .471 on-base percentage, 40 walks and just 13 strikeouts in 51 games (223 plate appearances). He continued to show impressive plate discipline his final year at San Diego with a 14.5% walk percentage and 9.1% strikeout percentage.
“He’s got a really compact swing,” said Rob Refsnyder who saw Meidroth play while rehabbing with Worcester. “I feel like he’s got a really great understanding of the strike zone. I was really impressed, honestly. He was playing a really good second base. I think he’s a solid ballplayer. He has a really good understanding of the strike zone. His mechanics are pretty sound. He’s got kind of a closed stance. Uses the opposite field well.”
He has struggled vs. left-handed pitchers this year after hitting well against them last year. The right-handed batter is 25-for-86 (.291) with a .462 on-base percentage, .395 slugging percentage, .857 OPS vs. right-handed pitchers. He’s 5-for-20 (.172) with a .250 on-base percentage, .172 slugging percentage and .422 OPS vs. left-handed pitchers.
Meidroth — who was in big league spring training camp and appeared in 12 Grapefruit League games — has made 14 starts at shortstop, 10 starts at third base and nine starts at second base for Worcester.
“You’re hard pressed to find a game where he didn’t do something on either side of the ball that was noteworthy,” Fatse said. “I remember it was early on (in spring training), putting the ball in play with two strikes and he drove in a run. Makes a diving play down the line. He’s kind of a guy that just finds his way into the game. He impacts the game.”
Zach Penrod has 2.25 ERA
Portland starting pitcher Zach Penrod, a lefty, has a 2.25 ERA (24 innings, six earned), 1.08 WHIP, 34 strikeouts and nine walks in five starts this season. Opponents are batting .198 against him.
Boston signed the 26-year-old last Aug. 16. He posted a 2.18 ERA (20 ⅔ innings, five earned runs) in four regular season starts for High-A Greenville. He then led all Arizona Fall League starters in ERA (1.29).
He throws a 94-97 mph fastball, 85-89 mph power slider and changeup.
Miguel Bleis heating up in May
Center fielder Miguel Bleis, who MassLive ranks Boston’s No. 4 prospect, went 2-for-4 with a homer, double, walk and two steals for Low-A Salem on Tuesday. The 20-year-old, who missed most of last season after undergoing shoulder surgery, batted .186 (13-for-70) in 18 games during April. But he’s batting .316 (12-for-38) with a .422 on-base percentage, .553 slugging percentage, .975 OPS, two homers and three doubles in 10 games during May.
