July 18, 2022 at 2:43 PM
Red Sox select Chase Meidroth with fourth-round pick
With its fourth-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, Boston has selected Chase Meidroth, a shortstop out of the University of San Diego. The 20-year-old is a redshirt sophomore and was ranked 258th by Baseball America, 350th by Perfect Game USA, and was unranked by MLB.com.
Meidroth dealt with injuries over his first two years at San Diego before finally having a healthy 2022, playing 56 of 57 games and hitting .329/.440/.544 with 19 doubles, 10 home runs, and 40 walks to only 25 strikeouts. He finished off the season by hitting .455 in the WCC Tournament and playing in the NCAA Corvallis Regional while earning First Team All-WCC honors. He led the WCC in doubles and was second in hits, walks, and OBP.
Listed at only 5-foot-10, Baseball America notes that his offensive game is built more on line drives rather than power with exit velocities supporting that. He does have average bat speed and the ability to make lots of contact and spray balls around the field. Despite being listed as a shortstop, he played almost exclusively second base this season, starting 49 of his 57 games at the keystone with seven additional starts at third base.
This summer he is playing in the Cape Cod Baseball League for Yarmouth-Dennis and over his 22 games has hit .286/.434/.381 while playing all but one game at second base. He still has yet to turn 21 and therefore is young for this college class, and he continues the Red Sox draft trend of valuing players that have good contact skills and a good approach.
Photo Credit: Chase Meidroth by the University of San Diego.
Will Woodward is a Co-Owner and Senior Staff Writer for SoxProspects.com. Follow him on Twitter @SPWill.