Roy-ZBlue Jays’ 19-Year Old OF prospect, Chavez Young, is Having a Quiet Breakout Season in Bluefield
Much of the excitement around the Blue Jays minor league right now is centered on the rise of cornerstone prospects Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., Bo Bichette and catcher Danny Jansen. Highlighted by those three, the Blue Jays’ system is rich with talent, with few being close to competing at the major-league level, playing in the lower rungs of A-ball. One of those such players enjoying a solid season with the Bluefield Blue Jays is Bahamanian outfielder Chavez Young.
Young spent most of his youth playing in the Grand Bahama Little League, but moved to Georgia in his late-teens, playing baseball at the Faith Baptist Academy in Brandon, Florida. He played well enough at Faith Baptist to be taken in the 39th round of the MLB Draft in 2016, going 1282nd overall to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Young signed at the deadline by the Blue Jays in 2016, so he only saw 21 games with Gulf Coast Jays in his first professional season. After starting 2017 with Vancouver, Young went to Bluefield in the Appy League and has made the most of his 54 games their this season, slashing .276/.332/.430 with three HR and 30 RBI.
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | TB | GDP | HBP | SH | SF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 18 | Blue Jays | GULF | Rk | 21 | 81 | 73 | 9 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 26 | .274 | .346 | .438 | .784 | 32 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 19 | 2 Teams | 2 Lgs | Rk-A- | 59 | 260 | 234 | 46 | 65 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 24 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 56 | .278 | .328 | .427 | .755 | 100 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 3 |
| 2017 | 19 | Vancouver | NORW | A- | 5 | 15 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .308 | .400 | .538 | .938 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 19 | Bluefield | APPY | Rk | 54 | 245 | 221 | 43 | 61 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 19 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 51 | .276 | .324 | .421 | .744 | 93 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| All | All | All | 80 | 341 | 307 | 55 | 85 | 20 | 9 | 3 | 30 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 82 | .277 | .332 | .430 | .762 | 132 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 3 | ||
| Rk ( | Rk ( | Rk ( | Minors | 75 | 326 | 294 | 52 | 81 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 25 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 77 | .276 | .329 | .425 | .754 | 125 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 3 |
2018 And Beyond
Taking a look at Young’s Appy League stats, it’s plain to see that he’s far from a finished product, and at only 19-years old, that’s just fine. He has shown the ability to get on base at a solid rate (.329 over 75 MiLB games), and 10 stolen bases in 16 attempts shows that he’s willing to run to get his team ahead. With some tutelage from some baserunning instructors within the Blue Jays system, I would expect that ratio to rise in the future.
While he’s still only 19, his seeming unwillingness to take a walk is a big disconcerting. Through 75 pro games, Young has taken just 16 walks in 341 plate appearances for a Pillarian 4.9% rate. His strikeouts don’t bode so well either, with 82 in that time, or a rate of 1.00+/game and 25% overall. And this is in Rookie Ball, facing other pitchers who have just become pro. The statistics won’t tell us everything, but right now they’re telling us that Young swings far too much for his own good. And if those numbers seem a bit in balance, the BABIP proves that as well, coming out to a dangerously high .376.
Chavez Young certainly isn’t a top prospect, but his ability to get hits when putting the ball in play and his extremely-athletic 6’2″, 180-lb. frame are still worth dreaming on. The lower levels or the Blue Jays system are flush with outfielders right now, and Young will have to improve on multiple facets of his game to rise above to the A and High-A levels. Mostly he’ll need to take a more patient approach to the plate and get himself into better counts where he’s not as susceptible to put-away pitches. The raw talent is there, and it carries over to a solid twitter game as well:
Huge shoutout @VictusBatsRep for hooking me up with the candy????? pic.twitter.com/ttUtjWunVx
— Chavez Young (@chavezyoung242) July 7, 2017
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Roy’s earliest memories all involve baseball from the early 90’s and the Blue Jays dream teams. He became a Blue Jays fan while watching Carlos Delgado and Shawn Green evolve in Syracuse, NY at the run-down confines of MacArthur Stadium, nestled between highway and swamp. A lifelong baseball player, Roy still plays (P, C, 2B, 3B) in the 25+ Syracuse MSBL for the Liverpool Mets. He watches almost all games with his best buddy Sebastian, a five year old Pug, who could care less.
