Nick Madrigal

27-Year-Old Second Baseman2B

Chicago Cubs

2024 Stats

AVG

.221

RBI

Rest-of-Season Projections

AVG

RBI

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2024 Fantasy Outlook

A first-round pick by the crosstown White Sox back in 2018, Madrigal is still looking for a true breakout campaign in his third season with the Cubs. The infielder has the contact skills and speed to make an impact, though health has been his biggest challenge to this point in his career. Madrigal missed time in 2023 due to a hamstring injury, and he dealt with back and groin ailments a year earlier. As a result, he's played in only 151 total games at the MLB level the last two seasons. On a more positive note, the 92 games he played in last year represent a new career high. Madrigal also set a new career best by recording 270 at-bats. He batted .263 and chipped in two home runs along with 10 stolen bases in 12 attempts. Madrigal will be entering his age-27 season in 2024, and if he can stay on the field, he may be Chicago's primary third baseman. Veteran Patrick Wisdom is still around, and he offers plenty of pop, but Madrigal is the better pure hitter. He could be a sneaky fantasy option this year if the playing time is there. Read Past Outlooks

RANKS

Rest of Season

From Preseason

#377

ADP

League Majors

Bats R

Throws R

40 Man Yes

Height 5'8"

Weight 175

DOB 3/5/1997

Born Elk Grove, CA

College Oregon State

Drafted 1st Rd 2018 CWS

Recalled, goes on 60-day IL

2BChicago Cubs

Hand

September 1, 2024

The Cubs recalled Madrigal (hand) from Triple-A Iowa and placed him on the 60-day injured list Sunday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

ANALYSIS
After he was optioned to Iowa on June 2, Madrigal fractured his left hand three days later when he was hit by a pitch and was placed on the Triple-A club's injured list a day later. He hasn't played since and had continued to occupy a spot on the Cubs' 40-man roster, but Madrigal's move to the big club's 60-day IL will clear room for lefty Jordan Wicks (oblique), who will return from the 60-day IL to start Sunday's game in Washington. Madrigal is without a clear timeline to return to game action at Triple-A.

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Batting Stats

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2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

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2023 MLB Game Log

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2022 MLB Game Log

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2021 MLB Game Log

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2020 MLB Game Log

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Minor League Game Log

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Batting Order Slot Breakdown

vs Right-Handed Pitchers

vs RHP

vs Left-Handed Pitchers

vs LHP

Left/Right Batting Splits

Since 2022

+7%

OPS vs RHP

2024

+27%

OPS vs LHP

2023

+10%

OPS vs RHP

2022

+13%

OPS vs RHP

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2022vs Left	.589	200	15	1	15	3	.251	.278	.310
Since 2022vs Right	.629	416	43	1	30	11	.251	.316	.312
2024vs Left	.623	33	2	0	5	1	.241	.313	.310
2024vs Right	.490	61	3	0	5	0	.211	.262	.228
2023vs Left	.618	86	9	1	9	2	.250	.268	.350
2023vs Right	.681	208	25	1	19	8	.268	.329	.353
2022vs Left	.544	81	4	0	1	0	.256	.275	.269
2022vs Right	.612	147	15	0	6	3	.244	.322	.290
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Home/Away Batting Splits

Since 2022

+3%

OPS on Road

2024

+13%

OPS on Road

2023

+1%

OPS on Road

2022

+3%

OPS on Road

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2022Home	.606	323	31	2	22	9	.247	.304	.302
Since 2022Away	.627	293	27	0	23	5	.256	.304	.322
2024Home	.504	49	3	0	6	1	.217	.265	.239
2024Away	.570	45	2	0	4	0	.225	.295	.275
2023Home	.661	150	17	2	11	6	.255	.311	.350
2023Away	.665	144	17	0	17	4	.271	.312	.353
2022Home	.579	124	11	0	5	2	.250	.311	.268
2022Away	.597	104	8	0	2	1	.247	.298	.299
More Splits→	View More Split Stats

Stat Review

How does Nick Madrigal compare to other hitters?

This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.

BB/K
Walk to strikeout ratio
BB Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
K Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
BABIP
Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
ISO
Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
AVG
Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
OBP
On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
SLG
Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
OPS
On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
wOBA
Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
Exit Velocity
The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
Hard Hit Rate
A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
Barrels/PA
The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
Expected BA
Expected Batting Average.
Expected SLG
Expected Slugging Percentage.
Sprint Speed
The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
Ground Ball %
The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
Line Drive %
The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
Fly Ball %
The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.

BB/K

0.40

BB Rate

4.3%

K Rate

10.6%

BABIP

.250

ISO

.035

AVG

.221

OBP

.280

SLG

.256

OPS

.535

wOBA

.247

Exit Velocity

85.1 mph

Hard Hit Rate

16.9%

Barrels/PA

0.0%

Expected BA

.243

Expected SLG

.291

Sprint Speed

23.9 ft/sec

Ground Ball %

60.5%

Line Drive %

18.4%

Fly Ball %

21.1%

Prospect Rankings History

View Complete Nick Madrigal Prospect Ranking History

Advanced Batting Stats

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Additional Stats

Games By Position

Defensive Stats

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Batted Ball Stats

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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers

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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Nick Madrigal See More

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188 days ago

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

It was another injury-riddled season for Madrigal in 2022. Back and groin ailments limited him to just 59 games. That figure actually represents the most for Madrigal across his three seasons at the MLB level, so he's never been able to fully showcase his abilities for an extended period of time. The talent is there, as the White Sox selected him fourth overall in 2018, and he batted above .300 during brief stints in the majors in 2020 and 2021. Last year was a step backward, as Madrigal only batted .249, but it's hard to come to too many conclusions until he gets in something close to a full season. Working in Madrigal's favor is the Cubs' timeline, as the team seems to be entering a rebuild. The second baseman is entering his age-26 season and is still looking to establish himself, so the playing time should be there. If Madrigal can stay healthy, he could be a breakout candidate, but there is plenty of risk here.

Madrigal has done nothing but display elite bat-to-ball skills since being promoted to the majors in 2020. He is tied with David Fletcher for the lowest swing-and-miss rate (4.1%) since the start of the 2020 season, but he also has just two more home runs than you, the reader, in 324 plate appearances at the big-league level. The fact he is coming off a major hamstring injury which required surgery to repair while also rehabbing during the lockout would seemingly put his running game at risk, leaving all of his value tied up in his batting average as a nine-hole hitter in Chicago. He may be an option should you roster batting average deadweights with power upside, but you have to have the right type of roster construction to carry this one-trick pony in 2022.

Madrigal was exactly as advertised in his MLB debut. He hit .340 with zero barrels and seven strikeouts (6.4 K%) in 109 PA. Those highest on Madrigal are hoping for a three-category stud, but he would need to lead off. Last year, he primarily hit ninth -- a trend that could continue this year with the addition of Adam Eaton. He can still be an elite source of batting average with 15-20 steals, but he would be a massive drag on the other three standard counting stats if he hits ninth. Most good hitters eventually grow into power, but Madrigal is an exception in more ways than one. His bat-to-ball ability is already the stuff of legend, but he rarely hits the ball hard (20.8 Hard%) or in the air (12.5 FB%). Projecting just five homers in his first full season would be aggressive, so roster construction needs to be factored in. He is recovering from October shoulder surgery and is questionable for Opening Day.

Madrigal, the No. 4 overall pick in 2018, has been exactly as advertised in pro ball, for better and for worse. His elite bat-to-ball skill has been on full display at every level (career 3.0 K%), as has plus speed (35-for-48 on SB attempts last year) and 20-grade power (four HR in 163 games). His lack of power is backed up by a 13.4 Hard%. He didn't get the benefit of the juiced ball at High-A and Double-A, but no qualified MLB hitter even logged a 20.0 Hard% last year. Sometimes players vastly outperform their power grades as prospects, but this is the rare case where that should not be seen as a potential outcome. That should be just fine, however, as Madrigal projects to hit at least .300 with 20-plus steals and 100-plus runs. As long as expectations for his peak seasons are kept in that range, he shouldn't disappoint. Look for him to take over at the keystone early this season.

It is extremely rare for right-handed hitting college second basemen to be drafted in the first round, but the White Sox believed in Madrigal's hit tool and defense enough to pop him with the No. 4 overall pick last year. He came as advertised, hitting .303 with just five strikeouts (compared to seven walks) in 173 PA across stops in the AZL, Sally League and Carolina League. That bat-to-ball ability is Willians Astudillo-esque, that is to say, almost unparalleled. However, almost 50% of his hits went to the opposite field and he failed to hit a home run -- only seven of his 47 hits went for extra bases (all doubles). While he lacks power, Madrigal is a plus runner, and given how often he will end up at first base, that speed should lead to 20-plus steals annually. He is capable of playing shortstop but should be a plus defender at second base. Madrigal will likely head to Double-A at the start of his age-22 season, and should be on the fast track to the majors.

More Fantasy News

Fractures hand at Triple-A

2BChicago Cubs

Hand

June 6, 2024

Madrigal suffered a fractured left hand when he was hit by a pitch during a game with Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, Tommy Birch of The Des Moines Register reports. Iowa placed him on its 7-day injured list Thursday.