Picked by the Chicago Cubs in the 14th round of the 2014 MLB draft, Chesny Young wasn’t even paying attention when he was drafted. He was on the field practicing in the Cape Cod league. A friend of his had to tell him after he got an update on his smart phone.
“Everybody clapped,” Young said. “It was a good time. I should have just walked off the field but I didn’t. I didn’t know I would be drafted high enough to go. I was hoping 10 to 20, but if it was 20 and I didn’t get any money I was probably going to go back to college (at Mercer University). It was an unsure time.”
#Cubs Name INF Chesny Young, RHP #PaulBlackburn Minor League Player,… https://t.co/Fhi3cRjopr #ChicagoCubs #GoCubs pic.twitter.com/hpQ8X6gtyP
— Zesty Chicago Cubs (@zesty_cubs) May 7, 2016
While Young may have been unsure of his future when his name was called on draft day, since then his path has been pretty clear. He’s never finished a season in rookie, Low-A or High-A ball batting lower than .315. As of today with 120 at-bats, Young is batting .317 this season with the Double-A Tennessee Smokies .Young’s opening game in Double-A was his best. He went 2-for-2 with a solo home run, only the second of his professional career at any level. He’s since hit another to go with two doubles, one triple and 10 RBIs.
“I try not to think too far in the future,” Young said. “It’s obviously not a bad thing to get hits early, but I don’t think I’ll be hitting .500 at the end of the season. You have to take it game by game.”
It was part of a fast start for Young who recorded hits in four of his first five games and multiple hits in three of them.
“He (Young) is a professional hitter with only a couple of years of professional baseball under his belt,” Smokies manager Mark Johnson said. “He has quality at-bats day-in and day-out. He has the ability to manipulate the barrel and get it on the ball like you don’t see very often. There’s only a few people that can do that on a nightly basis. He’s a very gifted young man who has a good head on his shoulders.”
@ballskwok i foresee lots of tommy la stella in chesny young
— dwest (@dwest___) May 6, 2016
Johnson should know. He’s coached Young in each of the last three seasons, first in Low-A Kane County in 2014, then last year in Myrtle Beach. Young has seen the other prospects fly through and make their way to the major leagues. He could be well on his way himself.
“Last year we had the best farm system in the game,” Young said. “It’s beneficial to everyone in it. You really have to compete for playing time. There’s nothing guaranteed. We’ve got so much talent on this team (the Smokies) that if you struggle for a week one guy can come in and take your spot right there. Having all these good players makes you work a little harder.”
Alright, I've seen enough… Chesny Young needs to be promoted to AAA. Dude is absolutely demolishing AA pitching. #Cubs
— Russ Hodges (@RussellJHodges) May 1, 2016
Young won the Carolina League batting title last season and helped the Pelicans to a league title. So he’d have reason to be a little surprised at his absence from the preseason Chicago Cubs prospect lists.
Young took his absence in stride.
“I’ve never been a highly-touted prospect type guy,” Young said. “I definitely don’t think about it too much. It doesn’t affect me or the way I play or the way I think. Even if I was on it, nothing would change.”
Notebook: Young is the current active batting leader for the Smokies after catcher Taylor Davis was called up to Triple-A Iowa. Davis took is .339 batting average with him…. New Smokies catcher David Freitas has stepped into his batting spot nicely, putting up a .291 average himself. Victor Caratini, the Smokies other primary catcher, is batting .274. …Brad Markey was recently promoted out of the bullpen into the starting line up. Markey won his first Double-A start of the season in a six-hit shutout win. Counting his work from the pen Markey has a 4-0 record this season and a 2.60 ERA. … Corey Black has done most of the work as the primary closer, recording four saves.
