Matt Chapman is Turning Heads in Oakland

by Matt George – Sports 1140 KHTK Reporter

Nearly every recent conversation about the Oakland A’s has begun and ended with attendance. With the organizations improvements to the Coliseum, their significant financial investment into their “Rooted In Oakland” campaign, and the successful 50th Anniversary Game on Tuesday night that allowed 46,028 fans to watch the A’s defeat the Chicago White Sox 10-2 for free, very little of the team on the field is being discussed.

Allow me to draw your attention to a piece of the Athletics organization you need to be talking about; Matt Chapman.

Th 24-year-old third baseman has appeared in all of Oakland’s 18 games this season, after being called up and playing in only 84 in 2017. While his .234/.313/.472 line with 14 home runs and 40 RBIs last season was impressive, and his raw talent with the glove in the hot-corner mesmerizing, his successes already this year are turning heads around the league.

Let’s start inside the batters box. 64 at-bats this season and Chapman is one of the leagues most efficient hitters. He’s managed a .313/.413/.609 line, with 20 hits, including five home runs, and 12 RBIs. Getting on base 40% of the time, Chapman has been involved in 23 of the A’s 92 runs this season. His 16 total runs scored put him at 4th in the MLB, behind Mookie Betts, Bryce Harper and Brett Gardner.

Matt Chapman welcomes Shohei Ohtani to the bigs with this 3-run home run #RootedInOakland pic.twitter.com/8TDn4o7aMv

— Around The Bases POD (@AroundBasesPOD) April 1, 2018

What’s the secret behind Chapman’s hot start with the bat? His plate-discipline. Chapman walked 32 times in 290 at-bats in 2017, that’s only 11%, while striking out 92 times, 31%. This season, Chapman has walked 10 times (15%) and struck out only 13 times (20%) in 64 at-bats. His improved eye has allowed him to work deeper into counts, and he has capitalized on a wider variety of pitches in various locations.

Even more impressive than his early season hitting numbers is his efficiency with a glove in the hot corner. Chapman is already making a name for himself as the best defensive third baseman in baseball. He is well on his way to his first career Gold Glove award with a .973 fielding percentage, 20 put-outs, and only two errors.

Chapman finds himself near the top of a majority of statistical categories in the MLB thus far. His most impressive achievement; tied as the league leader in WAR with Corey Dickerson and two-time MVP Mike Trout.

Matt Chapman glove status: GOLD#RootedInOakland pic.twitter.com/X4T8ASoCgD

— Oakland Athletics 🌳🐘⚾️ (@Athletics) March 30, 2018

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Oakland A’s have already approached Chapman’s agent, Scott Boras, about a multi-year contract extension, but were told that there is no interest at this time. As it stands, Chapman won’t be arbitration eligible until after the 2020 season and can’t test free agency until after the 2023 season.

While it shouldn’t be expected for Chapman to be able to continue this stretch of domination throughout a whole 162-game season, it’s worth pointing out that the young man, with not even a whole season of MLB time under his belt, is statistically up there with former MVPs and seasoned veterans.

A slump is sure to come with so much of the season still to be played, but the Oakland A’s look to have found their young star to build around. It’s no surprise that the Athletics farm system has produced another stellar young talent, and it wont be long before Matt Chapman becomes a household baseball name.

(All stats are prior to today’s game against the Chicago White Sox)

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