Madrigal already showing Sox he's an above-average hitter

When the White Sox drafted Nick Madrigal with the No. 4 overall pick in 2018, they envisioned the pint-sized second baseman eventually making a run at the American League batting title.

It's on.

Heading into Tuesday night's game against the Blue Jays at Guaranteed Rate Field, Madrigal ranked sixth in the league with a .306 batting average.

His bat has been especially hot in June (.438/.471/.688) and Madrigal had three straight multihit games (6-for-11) before facing Toronto.

"The last couple of weeks, I've been playing with different things as far as my front foot or where I stand in the box, different mental approaches," Madrigal said. "It hasn't necessarily been one change, I've kind of been messing with it, especially the last couple of days. It's a constant, trying to get you feeling good in the box. It's not necessarily one change I've made over the last couple of weeks."

From the start of the season to now, the 24-year-old Madrigal has been very good under pressure. He was hitting .333 on 0-2 counts and .291 with two strikes.

"It starts with the competitive determination, he's just not going to strike out," Sox manager Tony La Russa said. "I mean, you're going to stick your nose in there and you have to be able to wait on the ball and be able to handle it with two strikes no matter where the pitch is.

"It's a mindset and you also have to have the stroke and the approach, it gives you a chance that you track the ball, you shorten your swing. I had a chance to watch a guy last year for 60 games, (the Angels') David Fletcher, that's another guy. You almost want to get those guys out before two strikes, they're tougher."