Could one of the Chicago White Sox’s top prospects win ROTY?
With the Chicago White Sox in the midst of their rebuild one thing fans can be excited about is the amount of young talent they will get to see in the new year. With so much young talent coming up on the roster the White Sox have a better chance than most teams to have one of their young stars win the Rookie of the Year Award.
Eligibility for the Rookie of the Year Award
To be eligible to become the Rookie of the Year according to Major League Baseball one must:
“A player shall be considered a rookie unless he has exceeded any of the following thresholds in a previous season (or seasons):
• 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues.
• 45 total days on an active Major League roster during the Championship Season (excluding time on the Injured List).A player must have rookie eligibility to be considered for any MLB rookie awards — such as the American League or National League Rookie of the Year Award — or appear on any MLB Pipeline prospect lists”
The White Sox last ROTY winner was first basemen José Abreu who won the award back in 2014. Where he played in 145 games, had 176 hits, 35 doubles, 2 triples, 36 HRs, 107 RBI, for a .317/.383/.581 for an OPS and OPS+ of .964 and 173. Abreu also won the Silver Slugger award, as well as was named an ALL-Star, and finished fourth in the Most Valuable Player voting.
So Many Options to Choose From
The White Sox have a better chance than most teams to have one of their players win the most coveted award a rookie can win in baseball and that’s the Rookie of the Year Award. Shortstop Colson Montgomery is the most likely rookie on the White Sox roster to win the award.
Colson Montgomery
The 22-year old was protected on the team’s 40-man roster earlier this winter to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. Montgomery is the White Sox #3 prospect and is ranked by the MLB as their #37 overall prospect.
Drafted by the White Sox in the 1st round (22nd overall) of the 2021 MLB Amateur Draft, the 6’3” Montgomery spent the 2024 season at Triple-A where he struggled overall. In 130 games Montgomery hit 18 HRs, 21 Doubles, 3 Triples, 63 RBIs, and 69 BBs in 485 At-Bats while slashing .214/.329/.381 for a .710 OPS.
Even though Montgomery had a disappointing 2024 campaign, there may be a bright spot to look forward to. Participating in last year’s Arizona Fall League, Montgomery in 11 games (32 at-bats) had 2 doubles, 3 HRs, 11 RBI, 4 stolen bases, 10 BBs, and slashed .313/.511/.656 with an OPS of 1.167. Even in a small sample size such as this, these numbers should be something that Chicago White Sox fans should be excited about.
Colson Montgomery will come into spring training with having the starting shortstop job be his job to lose basically. The Chicago White Sox are in need of a solid defensive shortstop who they can rely to play on every day and give them a solid bat at the top of their lineup. Not having a reliable shortstop since they had Tim Anderson who they let walk in free agency back in 2023.
Chase Meidroth
Acquired in the deal that shipped left-hander Garrett Crochet to the Boston Red Sox, Meidroth is currently ranked as the White Sox’s #13 prospect and, in my opinion, is the most exciting player coming into spring training for the White Sox. His grades when looking at his Baseball Savant just don’t do him justice because all indicators point to Meidroth being a really good hitter at the Major League level.
Last season in Triple-A for the Boston Red Sox Meidroth played in 122 games where he had 128 hits, 20 doubles, 3 triples, 7 HRs, 57 RBI, having 105 walks while only striking out 71 times, for a slash line of .293/.437/.401 for an OPS of .838. The thing that stands out for Meidroth is that strikeout to walk ratio, which shows a good eye for the ball and the reason for the high average and OBP.
Meidroth’s ability to walk more than he strikes out is an underrated talent that the White Sox should be excited about. With the ability to play second, third, and shortstop Meidroth has a good chance to make the roster coming out of spring training given their needs at second, third, and having a versatile infielder to come off the bench. Meiroth has a really good shot if all goes well to win a spot on the roster out of spring training and even a starting job.
If Chase Meidroth can take what he did offensively into spring training and break camp with the Chicago White Sox and keep the success going through the season I wouldn’t be surprised if his name was announced as one of the finalists for the Rookie of the Year.
Catching prospect Kyle Teel also has a good chance to break camp with the Chicago White Sox and also be eligible to win the Rookie of the Year award if he does well and makes the team. As I said the White Sox have a really good chance to have one of their young players win Rookie of the Year whether it be Colson Montgomery or Chase Meiroth, whoever brings the award home for the White Sox will bring a beacon of hope to the fan base.
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