The White Sox have spent this season turning the page in a big way, and with 44 games left, their grip on first place in the AL Central still feels real - just not secure. At 61-57, Chicago holds a slim lead over the Tigers, who sit at 59-60 and are 2.5 games back, while the Twins and Guardians are still hanging around. If the White Sox are going to finish the job, two players stand out as the ones most likely to swing the race one way or the other: Munetaka Murakami and Chase Meidroth.
Murakami has been the headliner from the start. The first-year Japanese first baseman has been the club’s emotional and power-driven catalyst, the guy who helped spark Chicago’s surprising run with his ability to punish mistakes and send them out of the park.
Even after missing 35-plus games earlier this year with a hamstring strain, he’s still sitting on 26 home runs and 54 RBI, tied with Colston Montgomery for the team lead in homers. Miguel Vargas isn’t far behind with 25.
But Murakami is the one who looks capable of changing an inning with one swing.
That power comes with a price, though. The White Sox have leaned heavily into a long-ball-or-nothing approach, and the strikeout totals around that trio are eye-opening.
Murakami is slashing .237/.369/.538, Vargas is at .235/.342/.472, and Montgomery sits at .213/.294/.441. Montgomery has struck out 157 times, Murakami 122 times, and Vargas has failed to put the ball in play on 92 of his at-bats.
That kind of swing-for-the-fences profile can light up a scoreboard, but it can also leave a team stranded if the home runs dry up late.
Meidroth gives Chicago a different kind of edge. The White Sox saw him as a key piece entering the season, even if that belief was more hope than certainty based on his past performance.
He came over in the trade that sent Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox, and his minor league track record, work ethic and edge helped him carve out a role. He may not be a star, but he has brought a fight-at-all-times presence to the lineup.
At the plate, Meidroth has been more than useful. He’s slashing .274/.350/.404 with 11 home runs and 46 RBI, and only Randall Grichuk has a higher batting average on the White Sox at .276.
Grichuk, though, is a part-time outfielder who mostly faces left-handed pitching. Meidroth’s value goes beyond the bat, too.
The White Sox need the spark he brings defensively as well as in the box.
There is a small wrinkle right now: Meidroth is dealing with a sore left wrist after Friday’s game against the Guardians. The injury is day-to-day, and he is expected back in the lineup within days. That should be a relief for a team that needs his energy and production.
He showed exactly why last week. Even in a sweep at Fenway Park, Meidroth delivered one of the White Sox’s biggest individual performances of the year, going deep twice in the wild 12-11, 13-inning loss last Thursday. One of those home runs came off Aroldis Chapman and gave Chicago a two-run lead in the 10th inning after he sent the ball over the Green Monster.
That kind of moment matters now more than ever. Murakami brings the thunder.
Meidroth brings the fight. If the White Sox are going to protect their place atop the division, they’ll need both.
In Other News...
White Sox Make Another Catching Move That Raises A Bigger Question
The White Sox made another quick-catching adjustment this week, releasing Eric Haase from his minor league contract just after bringing him in. Haase got into seven games with Triple-A Charlotte, but his time in the organization ended before he ever surfaced as a real option for the big league club.
The move comes with the catching picture already looking a little tighter than expected. Chicago has been leaning on Drew Romo and Edgar Quero behind the plate, with Korey Lee next in line for depth, and the handling of Haase only adds to the sense that the club is sorting through its catching mix one piece at a time. [Read more 🡒]
Drew Thorpe Just Gave White Sox Fans A Reason To Watch Closely
Drew Thorpes first outing for Charlotte on Aug. 13 was the kind of return the White Sox had to be encouraged by after a long recovery from Tommy John surgery and earlier elbow trouble. The right-hander looked in control from the start, working through five innings with a pitch mix that showed the same kind of feel and consistency that made him such an intriguing arm in the first place.
The part that will matter most to Chicago is how sharp the changeup looked, because that pitch has always been central to Thorpes profile and it was getting real swing-and-miss in his debut. If he can keep pairing that weapon with steady fastball life and the kind of command he showed in Charlotte, the next question is less about whether hes healthy and more about how quickly he can force his way back onto the White Soxs radar. [Read more 🡒]
Luis Castillo May Be Giving The White Sox Rotation What It Needed
Luis Castillo has started to look more like the pitcher the White Sox were hoping they were getting when they brought him over from Seattle in the trade that sent Seranthony Dominguez, Nolan Jones and Boston Smith the other way. After a shaky stretch earlier in the season, Castillo has put together a run of better outings, and his most recent start against Cincinnati stood out for the kind of length and swing-and-miss stuff Chicago has been missing in its rotation.
A closer look at the adjustment points to a pitch mix change that could matter going forward. Castillo has leaned more heavily on his changeup, especially against left-handed hitters, and thats given him another weapon to keep lineups from sitting on his fastball and breaking stuff. For a White Sox staff that has needed stability and more reliable innings, the encouraging part is not just that Castillo has been better lately, but that the reason behind it may be something the club can count on. [Read more 🡒]