10. C.J. Chatham
I mentioned this a lot in my prospect watch articles throughout the season, a healthy C.J. Chatham is an elite-type prospect. In 2018 he proved just that with a superb season at the plate.
Defensively, Chatham is above-average. He looks naturally comfortable at shortstop despite being 6’4″ and has a cannon for an arm that allows him to make any throw.
Sure, the defense is great, but that’s not the main attraction when it comes to Chatham. The 23-year-old feasts at the plate.
2018 saw the first “full” season of Chatham, with the shortstop appearing in 114 games (previous high was 35). With that, the right-handed hitter boasted a .314/.350/.389 slash line between Full-A and Advanced-A. He hit 20 doubles and two triples, as well as three home runs in that time.
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The run production was solid too – driving in 52 runs and scoring 55 more, while stealing 11 bases.
Power wise Chatham isn’t going to hit 30 home runs, but 10-15 home runs with an abundance of doubles could do the trick. Especially with the potential to hit .280-plus on his side.
Run production could be the crown jewel of his game. In 2018, Chatham hit .322 (39-for-121) with runners in scoring position. That kind of clutch-hitting could lead to a lot of RBI. Meanwhile, he’ll get on base enough to score runs. He doesn’t have elite speed but there’s enough there to take an extra base and add a few runs to the total. Chatham also showed some base-stealing prowess last season, swiping 11 bags.
All-in-all it comes together to create an all-around offensive machine who can more than hold his own on the defensive end.
Chatham finished the year in Advanced-A but if he stays healthy could climb the ladder fast. That’s great news as it will be interesting to see how his bat continues to handle more-and-more advanced pitching.