Now that a week has been completed in major league baseball's "irregular season," teams have been able to secure that extra-special year of free agency for their top prospects, many of whom clearly deserved roster spots earlier. It was merely a matter of time before the Chicago White Sox gave the call to second baseman Nick Madrigal. After all, Leury Garcia, despite a multi-homer performance last weekend, was doing little as the starter, and Madrigal figures to produce quite a bit more right away.
The question for fantasy managers is whether Madrigal's skill set is worth it in our game. We know he's going to hit for average. Madrigal hit .380 and .367 in his final two seasons at Oregon State, and the White Sox chose him No. 4 overall in the 2018 draft. Following that, Madrigal hit .311 with 35 stolen bases across three minor league levels last season. We always knew what Madrigal was, and he should help fantasy managers in both batting average and stolen bases. He will not, however, be of any help in home runs.
Is that enough for most fantasy managers? Well, it could be. While the diminutive Madrigal compares in stature with injured Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, few scouts expect him to develop any power -- not even Leury Garcia power. Garcia hit eight home runs last season. Madrigal shows no evidence he can even approach that number. Instead, he offers elite bat-to-ball skills -- perhaps the most elite. He hits baseballs hard and rarely strikes out. There is nobody quite like Madrigal in the minors or majors. A 3% K rate from 2019 is, well, ridiculously low.
Frankly, I cannot wait to watch Madrigal play. While he should hit at the top of the Chicago lineup right away, with 2019 batting champion Tim Anderson on the team, that seems unlikely. Perhaps he'll fit in at No. 2, but who knows? Madrigal more likely hits at the bottom of the lineup initially. Still, he will hit and he will run and there is value to that in fantasy, more notably in points leagues that penalize for strikeouts. Madrigal does not draw many walks either. He just hits everything hard, and it should be fun. Think Los Angeles Angels infielder David Fletcher or Minnesota Twins infielder Luis Arraez, only with more speed.
Madrigal was already a top-300 player in our rankings, and I expect him to rise into the top 200 rather quickly. He is currently at 15% rostered in ESPN standard leagues, though he was at 20% a week ago. Hey, people are not patient. Don't read into it. Madrigal will enter the most-added list this weekend. I would drop the likes of Kolten Wong, Cesar Hernandez or Kevin Newman to get him -- and I like those three proven second basemen (each rostered in roughly 50% of ESPN leagues) quite a bit. Plus, they all hit at the top of lineups. So it's safe to say I like Madrigal quite a bit too.