Boston Red Sox prospect Chase Meidroth is almost as likely to get on base with a walk as he is with a hit.
The 5-foot-10, 170-pound infielder has 83 hits and 71 walks in 80 games with Triple-A Worcester this season. But that’s only part of the story. Meidroth has also only struck out 40 times.
It’s that terrific plate discipline from the 22-year-old Meidroth that earned him a nickname with his Worcester teammates.
“It’s funny. We actually call him Force Field down there,” Red Sox infielder Jaime Westbrook told MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “Because it seems like he just gets up there and walks. It’s like he doesn’t swing at balls ever.”
Westbrook added: “It’s almost like an electric force field around him that they’re like allergic to throwing him strikes or something. There’s so many games, he leads off a lot, and he’s 2-0, 3-0 to start the game.”
According to Smith, Meidroth led all Red Sox minor leaguers in on-base percentage last season — he split his time between High-A Salem and Double-A Portland — and is top three this year at .436. The high walk rate obviously plays a big role in that while also batting .286 with three home runs and 36 RBIs.
But Meidroth’s advanced eye for the strike zone is seldom seen out of players his age. It’s even something Red Sox shortstop and outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela has struggled with during his rookie season.
“Having him at the top of the lineup definitely helps everybody out,” Westbrook said. “Especially to be such a young hitter and understand the strike zone and his game, it’s fun to watch.”
Meidroth’s ability to routinely get on base has had to catch the attention of the Red Sox front office, but it hasn’t earned him a call up to the big leagues yet despite Boston searching for an answer at second base with Vaughn Grissom injured.
But if Meidroth, who is ranked the 17th-best Red Sox prospect by MLB Pipeline, keeps his walk rate up and strikeout rate down over the second half of the season, it will be hard to ignore him.
