BRONX, NY — Miguel Vargas of the Chicago White Sox is playing better than he ever has before, and the key to it all is belief in himself and trusting his process.
“I think this group has been amazing all year, and we bring in a lot of energy every day, and we compete as a group all day and night here,” Vargas told Latino Sports Wednesday night prior to Chicago’s matchup against the Yankees in the Bronx. “It has been helping me a lot.”
Last season, the 26-year-old of Havana, Cuba hit 16 home runs for the White Sox and this season, in 251 fewer at-bats, he has already tied that mark. Across 2025, Vargas had 504 at-bats, an OPS of .717, 60 RBI, and six stolen bases. For the current 2026 season, he has 44 RBI, 10 stolen bases, and an OPS of .853 in 253 at-bats.
In his first at-bat of Wednesday’s White Sox-Yankees matchup in the Bronx, Miguel Vargas ripped a double off Carlos Rodón – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
“Being around a little bit more now, I understand how long the season is and the preparation that is required with how consistent I want to be every single day,” Vargas said of his continued ascension in the pros.
“I think that takes a little bit of time to fully figure it out and this year has been great for me so far.”
Vargas was once a highly touted prospect with the Dodgers, and one of MLB’s top prospects—ranked as high as 94th on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Rankings in 2022.
He signed out of Cuba for $300,000 in the 2017 international free agent class, made his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 2022, and played 129 games with them through the trade deadline of 2024 which was when he was dealt to the White Sox in a deal for Michael Kopech.
Over his Dodgers tenure, which was his first three career seasons in MLB, Miguel Vargas posted a .658 OPS in 374 at-bats with 11 home runs – Image Credit: Emma Sharon/Latino Sports
“I think what happened happened,” Vargas said of the beginning of his career in the show. “I was young, and I think I had to learn a lot of stuff. And, hopefully, I did. I learned a lot from that time. And now I’m here, and I’m enjoying my time and having a great time with the White Sox for sure.”
Chicago’s been the biggest surprise in the American League this season, despite a few rough losses in the Bronx the last two nights—10-5 and 12-2, respectively. Nonetheless, in their last 26 games, the White Sox have gone 20-6 and stand 38-34 overall on the season. That record is good enough to tie them with the Cleveland Guardians for the AL Central division lead.
To put that into perspective, last season, the White Sox were last in the AL Central with a record of 60-102. Vargas is a huge part of the reason for the Southside turnaround, and is second on the team with an fWAR of 2.5, which trails shortstop Colson Montgomery by 0.1 (2.6).
Additionally, Vargas doesn’t forget where he came from, and pays homage to his father, Lázaro Vargas, who is a highly decorated player in Cuba, winning two gold medals.
“My dad was my biggest baseball influence and he played baseball for a long time which was 23-years.”
Despite his young age, Vargas—one of 28 Cuban-born players to appear in a MLB game this season—understands the trials and tribulations that come with those coming after him from his native Cuba.
“I know how hard it is, especially for Cuban guys, to come here and be in the show, and we’re all riding (hoping for) the same thing,” Vargas noted. “I’m very proud to represent all of them and be proud of this entire world of baseball for sure.”
His favorite moment of the season, while helping secure the White Sox with their 30th win of 2026, was an electric walk-off home run he hit in Chicago on May 29th to beat the Detroit Tigers 4-2 in extra innings.
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