When the White Sox acquired Miguel Vargas at the trade deadline last season, there were expectations that he would be one of the main hitters in the next competitive White Sox lineup.
However, I’m sure that both the White Sox and Vargas were disappointed with the start to his White Sox career, as he hit just .104 with two homeruns and seven RBIs in 42 games for the Sox after the trade.
After a full offseason, he came out with a very nice Spring Training, giving people a glimpse of what he could be. In the spring, he hit .341 with two homeruns and six RBIs, while walking more times than he struck out. While it is still Spring Training, it was encouraging to see the progress after what happened in the 2024 season.
Unfortunately, the 2025 season didn’t start off too great for Vargas, as of April 23rd, he was hitting .139 with a .235 OBP. This isn’t what anyone in the Sox organization wanted to see, as he wasn’t doing much better than his debut with the White Sox last season. But, a small change may have just unlocked something.
After his slow start to the season, the White Sox made a tweak to Vargas’ hand placement in his batting stance. They wanted him to have his hands start higher so that he could make harder contact and have more barrel in his swing path.
As you can see from the clip from the CHSN broadcast, Vargas’ hands start significantly higher. While this may seem like a small change, from the sample size, it seems to have unlocked something in Vargas.
After taking a day off after making the change on April 22nd, Vargas has appeared in four games. In those four games Vargas has gone 7 for 16, adding his first homerun on the season.
105.3 MPH exit velocity. 422 feet.
Miguel Vargas, I was not familiar with your game.pic.twitter.com/hlYyiVPJ6J
— Mike (@ChiSoxFanMike) April 24, 2025
Additionally, he has only struck out one time and he has 2 RBIs. This is a huge development and hopefully he can continue to improve with his new hand placement. In these four games, Vargas has raised his batting average by .050 and he has looked much more comfortable at the plate.
This is a big season for Vargas and if he doesn’t play well, he may lose his spot to someone like Bryan Ramos. However, with these changes, things are on the up, let’s just hope they stay that way.
Vargas was a consensus top prospect for a reason. While the White Sox haven’t had much luck developing top hitting talent, hopefully these changes can help Vargas find his footling in the major leagues and be one of the first hitting success stories for the White Sox in a long time.
