When you think about players that the White Sox offense can build around Miguel Vargas is not the first name that comes to mind.
It’s no secret that the White Sox need to improve their offense. The Pale Hose ranked last in nearly every major offensive category en route to a record-setting 121-loss season. But with few moves expected in free agency, most of the improvements are going to come from within the organization.
During a recent interview on the White Sox Talk Podcast with Chuck Garfein, Director of Player Personnel Gene Watson was asked which player in the organization he thinks will step up to help carry the offense next season. His answer was a bit of a surprise: Colson Montgomery and Miguel Vargas.
Montgomery has emerged as one of the organization’s top prospects after getting drafted out of high school in the first round of the 2021 MLB Draft. Despite a disappointing season in Triple-A, he is fresh off a solid performance in the Arizona Fall League. Seeing his name included in the conversation is unsurprising for a player with massive expectations placed on him.
However, Vargas’s early returns have been disappointing, to say the least. The 25-year-old batted .150 with five home runs, 16 RBIs, and a .506 OPS. His splits looked even worse in a White Sox uniform. In 135 at-bats with the White Sox, Vargas slashed .104/.217/.170, which was a steep drop off from the .239/.313/.423 line he posted in 71 at-bats with the Dodgers.
Despite a high 24.1 percent strikeout rate, Vargas appeared to have a good command of the strike zone. He rarely expanded the zone, owning a respectable 21.8 percent chase rate and a 21.6 percent whiff rate. He also drew walks at a 10 percent clip.
However, Vargas struggled to make hard contact. His 86.2 mph average exit velocity would have been one of the lowest in the MLB had he had enough at-bats to be considered a qualified hitter. His expected batting average was just .175, with a barrel percentage of just 4.6 percent, which suggests he struggled with timing. A bat speed that was much slower than the league average may have also factored into why he struggled to square up the ball.
Most of the hits Vargas did get were pulled to the left side of the diamond. Of his 31 hits, only seven were to the opposite field. Six of those seven hits were singles. While there wasn’t much to be optimistic about the White Sox traded for Vargas for a reason. He was considered a highly regarded prospect for the majority of his tenure in the Dodgers organization. Various publications listed him as a top-100 prospect for several years, with MLB.com ranking him as the No. 37 prospect in baseball before the 2023 season.
The White Sox didn’t exactly set him up for success. The sudden change of scenery midway through the year looked like it affected his confidence. In 24 hours Vargas went from playing on a World Series contender to joining a team setting records in futility. After playing alongside the likes of Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and Shohei Ohtani having a struggling Luis Robert Jr, aging Andrew Benintend, and journeyman Nicky Lopez as your lineup protection came as a bit of a culture shock.
Showing up to the ballpark motivated every day had to of been a challenge for Vargas and his body language reflected it. Things got so bad that even his former teammates began to feel sorry for him.
To add insult to injury the White Sox lineup was constantly changing. Veterans were moved at the deadline. Unproven prospects were being shuffled up and down from the minor leagues which put extra emphasis on players like Vargas to step up. With an entire lineup struggling many players began pressing which only worsened the team’s offensive woes. With a new coaching staff and offseason to make adjustments the 2025 season serves as a perfect opportunity for Vargas to press the reset button on his career.
