Talking Chop

This player preview was written by Paul Christmas, who posts here as samxrm.

Jesse Chavez is one of the newest Braves players. and quite possibly the least known -- having only recently arrived when Rafeal Soriano, who surprised everyone and accepted arbitration, was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays. Braves General Manager Frank Wren was pleased to acquire a strong arm for the bullpen in return for Soriano, saying that in addition to the luxury of adding another power bullpen arm, "this is better than having a Draft pick, from our point of view."

Chavez struggled at times in his first full season in the big leagues last year, but he has the potential to be an above average set-up man in the Braves bullpen. His fastball regularly clocks in at 94-96 on the radar gun, and many feel his slider is actually his best pitch. Jesse also throws an above average change-up, which could be called his out pitch, especially against left handed hitters.

Jesse's effectiveness thus far has been better against lefties than righties. His splits are a bit odd with an OPS of .690 against lefties and a .907 against righties. He also had an ERA of 2.88 against LH's in 34 IP, and an ERA of 5.18 in 33 IP against RH's. He pitched far better prior to the All-Star game (3.19 ERA) than after (4.99 ERA), but finished strong with an ERA of 3.27 in the final month of the season.

Chavez spent the entire 2009 season with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 67.1 IP he compiled a 1-4 record and a 4.01 ERA. He also surrendered 11 HR's while striking out 47 and walking 22. The HR number is a bit high, but most of those (7) came during a two month period (25IP) towards the end of the season. Some claim fatigue, or injury, but if not for the two month regression, he had a fine season and recorded 15 Holds.

Jesse also had a brief five week stint for the Tampa Rays in the off season. He was traded to the Rays for Akinori Iwamura right after the World Series.

Jesse Chavez should be able to make the Braves out of spring training. He has a full year of experience under his belt and knows what a Major League season entails. Add the positive influence of a more veteran bullpen in Atlanta than he had in Pittsburgh, and he should progress nicely, but if it is deemed that a bit more seasoning is needed in the minors, he still has options available. The Braves crave that kind of roster flexibility as much as anything else.

A little extra bullet-pointed background:

• Jesse was originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 2001 (39th round). But he opted to not sign and was drafted again the next year by the Texas Rangers in the 42nd round. He was traded to the Pirates for Kip Wells at the trade deadline in 2006. He was then traded to the Rays right after the WS and made his way to Atlanta five weeks later on Dec. 10, 2009.
• Chavez is also under team control until 2014 and still has minor league options available should he struggle in Spring Training. Jesse made the league minimum and is not eligible for arbitration until after the 2011 season.
• While attending at different times, he and Tommy Hanson both attended Riverside (Ca.) Community College.
• Jesse was born in 1983, and at 6'2" and 170# (according to mlb.com) he is a long drink of water. He hails from Victorville, California.
• Jesse was also named to the Arizona Fall League All-Prospect team in 2006 and in the same year was named an AFL Rising Star after going 3-0 with 4 saves and a miniscule 0.64 ERA in 14 IP.
• Was named Pitcher of the year in 2008 for AAA Indianapolis. Major League debut was that same year and he retired the first three Cubs he faced on Aug. 27th.

Thanks to Paul for a nice preview of our unknown relief candidate.