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Chafin has a 2 hit shutout going right now through 3.2 innings but the ESPN box score says he's thrown 90 pitches already. Guess he is struggling a little bit with his control.

He did throw a lot of pitches, 101 pitches with only 3 hits and 2 walks in 5 shutout innings. He kept the ball down and forced groundouts with no really solid hits from the Tribe. Nice outing, a couple of poor defensive plays forced him to labor a bit more than he should've.

You've got to love Tom Hamilton announcing, it's been like one long info-mercial for Kent State Baseball. At one points his sidekick Rosie mentions Akron just called in and asked "what about us?" and he quickly shut him down and said "no reason for them to call in". LOL He loves the school and promotes us every step of the way, it seems every game Hammy has something positive to say about us. His kid will be a freshman catcher next season.

Great debut by Chafin. Happy for the kid. Hopefully he is there to stay and they don't send him right back down.

(08-13-2014 08:18 PM)Polish Hammer Wrote:  <snip>
You've got to love Tom Hamilton announcing, it's been like one long info-mercial for Kent State Baseball. At one points his sidekick Rosie mentions Akron just called in and asked "what about us?" and he quickly shut him down and said "no reason for them to call in". LOL He loves the school and promotes us every step of the way, it seems every game Hammy has something positive to say about us. His kid will be a freshman catcher next season.

Yes, and his son Nick Hamilton graduated from Kent State and is still somewhat in the Indians organization

And as to Akron, the last guy that they had drafted in the first five rounds was some guy named Mike Birkbeck in 1983

From espin:

Chafin, an Ohio native who pitched at Kent State, was called up on Aug. 8. He attended high school about 50 miles from Cleveland, and had more than 60 family members and friends at Progressive Field.

Chafin was optioned to Triple-A Reno following the game.

"I completely understand it's for the benefit of the team," he said. "Hopefully, I'll have the opportunity to come back, but this was a great night that I'll never forget."

A Kent State pitchers helps defeat the Cleveland Indians. It just doesn't get any better for this Detroit Tiger fan!

(08-14-2014 04:36 PM)thanksjim Wrote:  A Kent State pitchers helps defeat the Cleveland Indians. It just doesn't get any better for this Detroit Tiger fan!

Arg, got half my wish (Chafin with 5 shutout innings), but didn't get the other half (Arizona bullpen imploding). That's the thing with AZ that might hinder Chafin sticking in the bigs, Arizona really doesn't have a bad bullpen. Almost everything else is wrong, but bullpen, not so much.

Chafin starts for the Diamondbacks tonight.

(09-17-2014 03:08 PM)bopol Wrote:  Chafin starts for the Diamondbacks tonight.

Actually, this afternoon: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 SO. Also an RBI single in 2nd.

I think we're close enough to the end of the year to access where Andrew Chafin and Travis Shaw are as prospects.

Chafin started out the year great at AA Mobile, got promoted to AAA Reno and got rocked and then settled down nicely and played pretty well since late June. Including his two starts in the bigs and two starts in the Pacific Leaguie playoffs, his ERA since June 28th is just 3.21, but that gets lost because most people will miss the 15 shutout playoff innings. His makeup is something scouts have to like (2 very good pitches from the left side) and the biggest concern will continue to be his control, which is sketchy.

If he can improve the control, I think it is likely he can be an effective major league starter, but I think the more likely path is to end up being a setup man in the ilk of Eric Plunk (and for anyone tempted to disrespect Eric Plunk, the dude was an awesome setup man). I'd say he's got to a B- prospect at this point, and, in the era of 13 man pitching staffs, Chafin will get lots of chances.

And it's those 13 man pitching staff that will limit the opportunities for Travis Shaw. At this point, I have no doubt that Travis Shaw can contribute in a major league lineup. He posted a 291/348/502 split against righties at Pawtucket. The trouble is: he didn't hit lefties at all this year and he can only play first base. And in the era of 13 man pitching staffs, it's hard to see how a Travis Shaw can fit on a major league roster short of a September call up or filler while the regular first baseman is hurt. Now, for the life of me, I can't figure out why the Red Sox aren't trying to maximize his value. He played third in college (though all reports are that his lateral movement can't cut it in the bigs), and you could try to teach him how to play the corner outfield positions. As it stands, I think he'll get to the bigs, but I doubt he'll stick for long or get many opportunities. He's a Grade C prospect.