The Road to The Show™: Nick Madrigal

Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps taken to reach the brink of the Major Leagues. Here's a look at White Sox second baseman Nick Madrigal:

Nick Madrigal had big shoes to fill when the White Sox picked him fourth overall in the 2018 Draft. Two years in, he seems to be already outgrowing them.

The fourth-ranked prospect on the South Side has seen nothing but success since beginning his pro career, soaring from Rookie ball to Triple-A in under two complete seasons. He’s posted consistently high numbers at the plate at each stop along the way, proving he’ll soon be ready to step into the box in Chicago.

2018 (Rookie-level Arizona League, Class A Kannapolis, Class A Advanced Winston-Salem)

Madrigal’s time in the Arizona League was brief and uneventful. Over five games, the Oregon State product logged just two hits in 13 at-bats. He scored twice, drove in one run and walked once.

Things couldn’t have gone more differently once he made it to the South Atlantic League. He jumped out to a scorching 10-for-21 over his first four games, scoring 10 runs and driving in three in that time. That pace slowed a bit over the next week and a half, but was still good enough to earn him a promotion as he finished his time with the Intimidators with a .341/.347/.409 line and nine runs scored in 12 games.

He hit the ground running at his next stop too, jumping on board with Winston-Salem of the Carolina League at the start of August. He logged two multi-hit games in his first three appearances with the Dash, and kept up a solid pace over the following two months. He capped his first season as a professional with his best game of the campaign, going 4-for-4 with two runs scored and a double.

2019 (Winston-Salem, Double-A Birmingham, Triple-A Charlotte)

Madrigal began his first full season as a pro where he ended his rookie campaign: Winston-Salem. The 23-year-old logged just one hit over his first three games but then got red-hot, boosting his average as high as .351 at one point and clubbing his first pro homer on May 16. He cooled a bit from there, but was still effective for the Dash as he finished with a line of .272/.346/.377 at the beginning of June.

The next stop for Madrigal was Birmingham, where he made an immediate impression by going 11-for-19 over his first five appearances as a Baron, including a 3-for-4 showing in his debut.

"I wasn't surprised at the promotion," Madrigal told MiLB.com’s Michael Avallone after that game. "I actually thought I would open the season here. When that didn't happen, I told myself, 'They have a plan,' and I just went with it. I'm here now. Honestly, I felt I was ready [to be in Double-A] last year towards the end of the season. I enjoyed Winston-Salem and had a great time playing for [manager] Justin Jirschele, but I was ready for the next level."

He obviously couldn’t maintain that pace all summer, but he kept his numbers high enough to earn a spot on the American League roster in the 2019 All-Star Futures Game. He returned to Birmingham from Cleveland with sky-high confidence, and continued to play at a high level for the remainder of his time in the Southern League. He left Birmingham with a .341/.400/.451 line to go with 30 runs scored and 16 driven in.

Not much more than a year after being Drafted, Madrigal was on his way to Triple-A, just one step away from the big leagues. He arrived in Charlotte with about a month left in the season and made the most of that time; over 29 games, he hit .331/.398/.424 with 26 runs scored and 12 driven in.

Madrigal’s performance with the Dash, Barons and Knights turned heads everywhere he went. Along with teammate and top White Sox prospect Luis Robert, he was named an Organization All-Star for the 2019 season.

"I am very thankful for the season and everything that has happened," Madrigal said after setting a career-high with five hits in his season finale. "I met a lot of great people at each level and played for some really good coaches. That was the most baseball I have ever played all at once, so I will be enjoying some down time. I get the chance to just go home and take a break, but I am just very thankful to have stayed healthy and just everything that happened throughout the year."

His performance also earned him an invite to big league Spring Training in 2020, and lined him up for a chance to compete for the starting second base job in Chicago. That was halted when the season’s start was delayed, and while Madrigal was frustrated, he knew it was the right move and that his time would come.

"I think it was tough because of how much work I’d put in during the offseason," Madrigal told MiLB.com’s Sam Dykstra last month. "Going through spring, I felt like I was just getting my timing back. I feel like going halfway through Spring Training, guys are just getting their timing down, getting used to their bodies, getting used to just playing again. We were close. It was frustrating when we found out we were going into a pause. At the end of the day, it’s bigger than baseball. I’ve tried to look at it that way. Whenever we do resume, I’ll be ready."

Whenever play does resume, Madrigal will still have a chance to earn that Major League job, and if the pace at which he’s advanced thus far is any indication, he has a real chance of seizing it.