Somewhat surprisingly, Red Sox infield prospect Chase Meidroth was left off Minor League Baseball’s 2024 International League All-Star team, which was unveiled on Wednesday.
Meidroth, Boston’s No. 11 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, enjoyed a productive season at Triple-A Worcester. The right-handed hitting 23-year-old was recognized as the WooSox’ Most Valuable Player after batting .293/.437/.401 with 20 doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 57 RBIs, 87 runs scored, 13 stolen bases, 105 walks, and 71 strikeouts over 122 games (558 plate appearances). That includes a .304/.457/.430 slash line against right-handed pitching and a .266/.387/.328 slash line against lefties.
Among 85 qualified hitters in the International League this year, Meidroth led in walk rate (18.8 percent), on-base percentage, and swinging-strike rate (3.2 percent). He also ranked fourth in strikeout rate (12.7 percent) and wRC+ (132), eighth in batting average, 18th in OPS (.838), and 26th in line-drive rate (25.9 percent), per FanGraphs.
On the other side of the ball, Meidroth — Double-A Portland’s 2023 Defensive Player of the Year — once again saw playing time at every infield position besides first base while with Worcester in 2024. The versatile 5-foot-10, 170-pounder (listed height and weight) logged 412 innings at shortstop, 275 1/3 innings at third base, and 137 2/3 innings at second base. He committed 10 total errors (seven at shortstop, three at third base) in 340 chances.
A native of Torrance, Calif., Meidroth was originally selected by the Red Sox in the fourth round (129th overall) of the 2022 draft out of San Diego. He signed with Boston for an under-slot $272,500 that July and made his professional debut in the Florida Complex League shortly thereafter. In the two-plus years since then, Meidroth has utilized his contact skills and plate discipline to compensate for his lack of power, making him one of the organization’s more unique talents.
Despite being snubbed by Minor League Baseball, Meidroth was named to Baseball America’s 2024 Triple-A All-Star team last week. He is currently regarded as the Red Sox’ 13th-ranked prospect by the publication, which hypothesizes that he “could emerge as a bottom-of-the-order regular if he gains strength and bat speed.”
Meidroth, who does not turn 24 until next July, does not need to be added to Boston’s 40-man roster for Rule-5 purposes this offseason. He is projected by SoxProspects.com to return to Worcester for the start of the 2025 campaign but may surface in trade talks over the winter if the Red Sox use their breadth of position-playing prospects to address other areas of need at the major-league level.
(Picture of Chase Meidroth: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)
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