Well, after months of speculation and mock drafts, the White Sox made their long awaited pick at No. 4 overall, selecting 2B/SS Nick Madrigal out of Oregon State. Considered by many to be the top hitter in this year’s draft, Madrigal absolutely rakes at the plate. Pair that with an absurd batter’s eye and you get stats like this.
If you hate strikeouts, you'll love Nick Madrigal. He's a modern day Nellie Fox. Had 5 strikeouts in 128 at-bats this season. Slashed .406/.473/.594.
— Chuck Garfien (@ChuckGarfien) June 4, 2018
Slashing .406 after breaking his wrist earlier in the season is just absurd. Furthermore, scouts have raved about his defense at second base and many peg him as a future gold glover at the position. He can also play short stop, although the Oregon State Beavers boasted the best defensive short stop in the country, so Madrigal spent the majority of his time at second. He has been compared to Dustin Pedroia and Jose Altuve.
Madrigal uses a line drive approach at the plate to drive balls into the gaps. While he will probably never be a true home run threat, he will rack up doubles and triples thanks to his elite speed, which some scouts have graded as high as 65 on the 20-80 scale.
At the end of the day, Madrigal is a hell of a ballplayer. He should get on base at a very solid clip and can wreck havoc on the base paths with his speed. The biggest concern that White Sox fans will have is the fact that the 2 positions he plays are currently occupied by Tim Anderson and Yoan Moncada.
Listen, when teams are rebuilding like the White Sox are, they need to always take the best player available regardless of the position. No one can predict what will happen in the future, so it is never a bad thing to have depth at numerous positions. Hell, look at Jake Burger. After two Achilles ruptures just a few months apart, no one knows how he will bounce back.
White Sox fans should frankly love this pick. What he lacks in size (he stands at 5’8) he makes up with his elite speed, incredible feel for the strike zone, and his ever so dangerous bat. This kid isn’t the freak athlete the White Sox are so accustomed to drafting. He is a baseball player. He has the potential to fly through the system If he does, it will be another great problem for the White Sox to have.
