CLEVELAND — The Chicago White Sox began last weekend’s series in Detroit with a unusual starting lineup.
Edgar Quero led off, Kyle Teel batted second, Colson Montgomery had the cleanup duties and Chase Meidroth followed in the fifth slot.
That’s four rookies in the top five spots.
“It shows a lot about their growth,” assistant hitting coach Joel McKeithan said Sunday. “(A) few of them have been up here longer than others, but throughout the whole time, they’ve all learned themselves and grown and made adjustments and gained confidence.
“It just shows that we have confidence in them and they have confidence in themselves.”
Each of the players had at least one hit — with Montgomery hitting a home run and driving in four — in the 7-5 victory on Sept. 5 at Comerica Park.
“We know what they can do and they know what they can do,” McKeithan said. “It’s impressive how they’ve bonded together. They feed off each other and they prepare together … and they’ve learned to compete together.”
The contributions have continued, from rookies to veterans. It’s a big reason the Sox entered Friday’s series opener against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field with a 25-25 record since the All-Star break.
“It’s been great overall,” McKeithan said of the second-half success. “I mean, all the stats show but just the way they’re going about things, how they’re learning themselves, their process, meshing together.
“The biggest thing is overall aggressiveness, (being) ready to hit, being confident (and) young guys learning the league.”
Entering Friday, the Sox had a .264/.325/.439 slash line with 74 home runs and 265 runs since the All-Star break. They rank second in the American League during the second half in runs and runs per game (5.3), third in average and on-base percentage, fourth in slugging and OPS (.764) and tied for fourth in homers.
Teel came into Friday having reached base safely in 20 straight games, the longest streak for a Sox rookie since José Abreu had streaks of 20 and 22 games in 2014, according to Elias.
“Right when he got here it was obvious the good swing decisions, putting good at-bats together,” manager Will Venable said Friday. “But I feel like he has gotten more consistent as he’s gotten more time here, to the point where he’s a guy you just want in there every single day.”
White Sox second baseman Chase Meidroth (10) celebrates with manager Will Venable after scoring on a Colson Montgomery single in the first inning against the Rays on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, at Rate Field. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Meidroth also came into Friday on a streak with at least one hit in seven straight games. His average went from .251 to .269 during the 13-for-24 stretch.
“Just not trying to do too much, not trying to let the moment get too big,” Meidroth said after Thursday’s 5-1 win against the Tampa Bay Rays.
His double-play partner, Montgomery, is third on the team with 18 home runs — trailing Lenyn Sosa (20) and Andrew Benintendi (19). According to Elias, the 18 homers are the most by a primary shortstop in major-league history over his first 56 games.
“The power is God-given,” McKeithan said. “The athleticism is God-given, and the thing that’s impressed me the most is his awareness of the game and his ability to make adjustments. We’ve already seen some things the league has done to combat what he does, and he’s made adjustments really quick.
“That shows that he’s going to be able to do this for a long time. That baseball instinct and ability to do that is one of the most impressive things I’ve seen so far.”
The group continues to make progress as the season winds down.
“What’s great is that each one of them has their own stories,” Venable said. “It hasn’t been all smooth for these guys. And guys in their first year, one of the big things that you have to figure out (is) how you deal with stuff and can you overcome those things.
“Whether it’s Colson, it happened in the minor leagues where he got sent to Arizona. Chase got off to a great start here, (then the) middle of the summer for him wasn’t great. He’s had to rebound and find himself. So each one of these guys has proven that they can handle the tough stuff that the league throws at you.”