Chase Meidroth and Miguel Vargas showed flashes in 2025, but with another wave of infield talent on the way, the 2026 season could determine whether they remain part of the White Sox long-term core.
For fans at home, the 2026 season will be about the Chicago White Sox taking another meaningful step forward in the club’s rebuild.
The White Sox saw a 19-win improvement from 2024 to 2025, going from a 41–121 record to a 60–102 mark. Still uncompetitive. Still last place in the AL Central. But it was a big step forward, led by a relatively strong second half of the season that provided hope for the future.
White Sox fans want to see the team avoid 100 losses this season. Some of the more optimistic members of the fan base even have aspirations of the club flirting with a .500 record. But regardless of the record, it’s all about the continued development of the young core and building a competitive roster for the future.
The White Sox had plenty of rookies debut in the big leagues over the course of 2025, and many of them showed flashes of excellence. Now it’s time to see if they can take the next step and become more established.
That’s what fans will be tuning in for in 2026.
And for a select few players, the 2026 season will be their last chance to prove they belong in this White Sox core. It’s not necessarily because they’ve done anything wrong. It’s simply because the White Sox have another wave of young talent on the way, and by the start of the 2027 season, the projected lineup could look a whole lot different. If you want to be a part of it, you’d better prove it while you still have the regular at-bats to do so.
Two players I’d put into this category are Chase Meidroth and Miguel Vargas. And again, it really doesn’t have anything to do with the performance of either player thus far.
Meidroth was a 1.3 fWAR player as a rookie despite going through offensive slumps and finishing the season with a .649 OPS. He’s a quality baserunner and a solid defender, and I do believe his offense will continue to improve in the years to come.
From the moment the White Sox acquired Meidroth in a trade with the Boston Red Sox, we knew his future wasn’t that of an MLB superstar. But if he continues to develop the way the club hopes, he can absolutely be a starter on a contending team and regularly produce 2.5-3.0+ fWAR for the White Sox.
He’s one of those heart-and-hustle players who has a lasting effect on his teammates and helps the White Sox do the little things well. After watching the last iteration of the rebuild, that’s a refreshing change.
Miguel Vargas also posted a 1.3 fWAR season in 2025. He got off to a horrendous start before making a well-documented change to his batting stance and swing. After that adjustment, Vargas posted a .769 OPS with 16 home runs and 54 RBIs in 116 games.
The defense at third base wasn’t great, and he didn’t look particularly natural at first base either. But the White Sox are continuing to develop Vargas as an offensive force, and the early returns from spring training are pointing in the right direction. Vargas is 9-for-20 with a home run and a 1.176 OPS in Cactus League action thus far. He’ll be 26 years old for the entire 2026 season and still has plenty of club control remaining.
I wouldn’t bat an eye if you told me Miguel Vargas hit 25 home runs for the White Sox this season. And that says a lot about the kind of jump that could still be in the cards for him.
So with all of this being said, how is it possible that 2026 could be the last chance for Chase Meidroth and Miguel Vargas to prove they belong in the White Sox core? Could they really get pushed out if they don’t take a big step forward this season?
It’s all about the next wave of players that’s coming.
The White Sox have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft and will, in all likelihood, select UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky. Cholowsky is already being touted as the best college shortstop prospect of the last 20 years, and he’s the kind of player who could immediately become a top-five prospect in all of baseball after being drafted.
He will also likely work his way through the minor leagues very quickly.
Teams are wasting no time promoting advanced college players to the big-league level these days. A prominent recent example is Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz, who was drafted fourth overall in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Wake Forest and made his MLB debut for the Athletics on April 23, 2025. He proceeded to hit 36 home runs, win Rookie of the Year, and take home a Silver Slugger award in the American League at just 22 years old.
Even looking back at some of the most prominent college shortstop prospects in recent MLB drafts, you have Dansby Swanson, who went first overall out of Vanderbilt in the 2015 MLB Draft and made his debut in August of 2016, a little over a year after being drafted.
Troy Tulowitzki didn’t go first overall when he was selected seventh by the Colorado Rockies in the 2005 MLB Draft, but he was still considered one of the most polished college shortstop prospects the draft had ever seen. By August 30 of the following year, Tulowitzki was already in the big leagues.
It’s not unrealistic to think that Roch Cholowsky could be drafted by the White Sox this July and be playing on the South Side at the big-league level at some point in 2027.
Now allow me to talk about Sam Antonacci, a prospect I’ve highlighted quite frequently in recent weeks.
Antonacci has hit at every level he’s played — from high school to junior college to Coastal Carolina and all the way through the minor leagues. After being drafted in the fifth round of the 2024 MLB Draft by the White Sox, Antonacci hit .333 over 23 games in his first professional season.
2025 was his first full season in the organization, and he posted a .842 OPS with 48 stolen bases while climbing the ladder all the way to Double-A Birmingham. He carried over that regular-season success with three home runs and a 1.046 OPS in the Arizona Fall League, and he has been demonstrating more power while dominating in spring training as well.
White Sox assistant GM Josh Barfield was singing Antonacci’s praises in the media following the 2025 season. Chicago considers him to be one of the more unheralded prospects in all of baseball, and scouts with deep knowledge of the game have expressed confidence that Antonacci will have a long, fruitful MLB career.
The one real tool that has been missing is power, but with a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League and two early home runs in spring training, Antonacci is beginning to show some developing pop in his bat. That makes him a really intriguing offensive player moving forward. He’s certain to factor into decisions that will need to be made on the infield.
There’s the dilemma.
By 2027, you’re talking about Colson Montgomery, Roch Cholowsky, Sam Antonacci, Miguel Vargas, Munetaka Murakami, and Chase Meidroth all needing somewhere to play on the infield if they want regular at-bats.
Caleb Bonemer may not be far behind at that point either if he continues down the path he’s currently on.
And you may not have a place to DH one of them if Chicago decides to keep both catchers — Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero — long term.
The benefit of the doubt is always going to go to the players who are making the most money and have the most upside.
If Murakami lives up to his contract and proves to be a 30 home run force in Major League Baseball, he will be locked in at first base for the White Sox.
And provided Colson Montgomery doesn’t suffer a steep drop-off and continues to be a run producer with big power and solid defense at shortstop, he too should remain in the regular infield mix.
Maybe someone like Antonacci could make the transition to a corner outfield spot in order to get the regular at-bats he deserves. But that won’t be necessary unless Miguel Vargas and Chase Meidroth give the White Sox a reason to displace him — and a reason to keep them in the regular lineup.
For those two in particular, 2026 is about taking a big enough step forward to earn their place and give the organization confidence.
It’s a good problem for the White Sox to have. Opportunities should always be earned, not given. But at some point there’s going to be an odd man out, and we may learn more about who that will be over the next 162 regular-season games.