Michael Chavis   Infield

       
 
Born: August 11, 1995
Birthplace: Marietta, GA
Height: 5-10
Weight: 215
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
   
Drafted: 1st round, 2014 by BOS
How Acquired: Draft
College: (Clemson commit)
High School: Sprayberry Senior HS (GA)
ETA: -

Photo © Kelly O'Connor
Michael Chavis photos by Kelly O'Connor
Pronunciation: CHAY-viss
First Pro Contract: June 23, 2014 (BOS)
Signing Scout: Brian Moehler
Signing Bonus: $1,870,500
   
Pro Debut: July 5, 2014 (GCL)
MLB Debut: April 20, 2019 (BOS)
   
Twitter: @MichaelChavis11
Instagram: @michael_chavis11


Traded to Pittsburgh (July 2021)
 
 
 
 
 
     
  Scouting Report & Links      
         
  Physical Description: Slightly undersized but well-built frame. Strong core, thick lower half. Minimal physical projection remaining. Solid athlete.

Hit: Compact swing. Wide base in stance. Starts vertical with a slightly open stance. Utilizes a short leg kick timing device. Has quick hands and is loose at the plate. Possesses plus bat speed. Tracks the ball well. Swing can get long, creating a hole on the inner half. Has a lot of swing-and-miss at present. Approach is inconsistent. Can get too aggressive early in the count, hunting fastballs and looking to pull the ball. Susceptible to breaking balls, but pitch recognition has improved and strikeout rate decreased as he has moved up the system. Ability to make contact once suffered due to his tendency to sell out for power and try to hit every pitch out of the park, but reined in that tendency to a significant degree beginning in 2017, to great effect. Has not completely lost tendency to swing for the fences on occasion, and will pop balls up as a result. Potential fringe-average hit tool.

Power: Could develop plus in-game power, capable of hitting 25-plus home runs a year. Easy plus raw power comes from bat speed and ability to barrel the ball with backspin. Has already shown in-game, over-the-fence power, especially to the pull side. How much power actualizes at the highest level will be determined by how his hit tool develops.

Run: Below-average runner. Won't be a major part of his game, but could steal 5-10 bases a year mainly due to instincts.

Field: Not the most fluid defender. Footwork is choppy and lets the ball play him at times. Hands work and has average range in the field. Has more range to his glove side than when going to his right. Has the raw tools to be at least a fringe-average defender. Started playing first base in the 2017 Arizona Fall League and second base during Spring Training 2019. Played shortstop initially after signing, but was moved off the position to third base very soon thereafter.

Arm: Above-average arm, able to make all the throws from third base, including deep against the foul line. Accuracy suffers at times due to sloppy footwork.
  Career Notes: Committed to Clemson before signing. Played shortstop, third base, and outfield in high school. Participated in 2014 and 2015 Fall Instructional League. Missed six weeks of the 2016 season with a left thumb injury, then broke a finger two weeks after coming off of the DL and didn't tell the team until September, leading in part to poor numbers after a great start. An elbow injury suffered before the start of the 2017 season hampered him for most of the first two months of the season. Once possessing something of a crude approach, began taking meticulous notes about each plate appearance in 2017. Entered 2018 as a consensus top 100 prospect. A non-roster invitee to MLB Spring Training in 2018, suffered an oblique injury early in camp and was shut down. Suspended for 80 games in April 2018 for violating the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Had been a consensus top 100 prospect in baseball prior to that. Was assigned to participate in the 2018 Arizona Fall League, but unable to play because of a sore wrist. Was ranked by MLB.com as a top 100 prospect entering 2019. Led team in home runs in 2019 Spring Training in just 24 plate appearances. Opened 2021 optioned to the Alternate Training Site. Spent the first half of the 2021 season moving between Boston and Worcester before being dealt to PIttsburgh at the trade deadline for LHP Austin Davis.

Summation: Has the potential to develop into a second division regular. Needs to make major strides defensively and continue to develop his approach and pitch recognition. If defense doesn't develop looks like a potential bat-first utility player who gets moved around to several positions in order to get him in the lineup. Bat would be an asset if he can stick at third base long-term, but seems to be making the transition to primarily playing first and second base for the 2019 season. Bat profiles better at second base than first base, but it is questionable whether he could play there consistently. Really confident player. Enthusiastic; enjoys playing the game. Hard worker. Student of the game. Injuries and suspension have slowed his development.

Links
2014 Top 40 Season in Review (11.5.14)
Anxious Chavis opens spring training with... (3.18.15)
Scouting Scratch (3.19.15)
Video from Spring Training (3.31.15)
Podcast: Interviews with Chavis and Longhi (8.21.15)
Scouting Scratch (9.3.15)
The Write-Up (10.23.15)
2015 Top 40 Season in Review
Notes from the Field (3.18.16)
Chavis optimistic after offseason adjustments (3.29.16)
Scouting Scratch (7.26.16)
Scouting Scratch (7.28.17)
Scouting Scratch (5.3.2021)
 
   
     
    Hitting Stats                                          
  year team lg level org age g ab r h 2b 3b hr rbi tb bb so sb cs avg obp slg ops
2014 Sprayberry Senior HS --- HS --- 18 28 81 30 47 9 1 13 37 97 14 10 21 --- 0.580 0.663 1.197 1.861
  2014 GCL Red Sox GCL Rk Bos 18 39 134 21 36 12 3 1 16 57 15 38 5 3 0.269 0.347 0.425 0.772
  2015 Greenville SAL A Bos 19 109 435 56 97 29 1 16 58 176 29 144 8 5 0.223 0.277 0.405 0.682
  2016 Greenville SAL A Bos 20 84 279 30 68 11 3 8 35 109 22 74 3 1 0.244 0.322 0.391 0.713
  2016 Salem Car A+ Bos 20 7 25 5 4 0 0 0 1 4 2 7 1 0 0.160 0.222 0.160 0.382
  2017 Salem Car A+ Bos 21 59 223 50 71 71 2 17 55 143 19 57 1 0 0.318 0.388 0.641 1.029
  2017 Portland East AA Bos 21 67 248 39 62 18 0 14 39 122 20 56 1 0 0.250 0.310 0.492 0.802
  2017 Peoria AFL Fall Bos 21 23 92 17 24 6 1 4 17 44 7 20 0 0 0.261 0.327 0.478 0.805
2018 Lowell NYPL A- Bos 22 5 16 5 5 4 0 1 3 12 5 5 0 0 0.313 0.476 0.750 1.226
  2018 Portland East AA Bos 22 33 122 23 37 7 0 6 17 62 13 35 3 1 0.303 0.388 0.508 0.897
  2018 Pawtucket IL AAA Bos 22 8 33 8 9 3 0 2 7 18 1 12 0 0 0.273 0.294 0.545 0.840
  2018 Mesa AFL Fall Bos 22   DNP due to injury                  
  2019 Pawtucket IL AAA Bos 23 21 70 11 18 4 0 7 11 43 8 21 0 0 0.257 0.329 0.614 0.943
  2019 Boston AL MLB Bos 23 95 347 46 88 10 1 18 58 154 31 127 2 1 0.254 0.322 0.444 0.766
  2020 Boston AL MLB Bos 24 42 146 16 31 5 2 5 19 55 8 50 3 0 0.212 0.259 0.377 0.636
  2021 Worcester TAE AAA Bos 25 24 95 19 25 2 0 6 17 45 8 30 1 0 0.263 0.327 0.474 0.801
  2021 Boston AL MLB Bos 25 31 79 12 15 4 1 2 6 27 1 32 1 1 0.190 0.207 0.342 0.549
  2021 Indianapolis TAE AAA Pit 26 25 97 19 27 6 0 8 20 57 6 26 1 1 0.278 0.364 0.588 0.951
  2021 Pittsburgh NL MLB Pit 26 12 42 4 15 3 0 1 5 21 0 10 0 1 0.357 0.357 0.500 0.857
  2022 Pittsburgh NL MLB Pit 27 129 401 39 92 16 3 13 49 156 19 126 1 1 0.229 0.267  0.389 0.656
  2023 Wasgington NL MLB Was 28 48 91 16 22 3 0 2 5 31 5 33 1 0 0.242 0.281 0.341 0.622
  2024 Charlotte IL AAA CWS 29 67 239 40 56 16 0 9 27 99 20 63 9 1 0.234 0.308 0.414 0.723
  2024 Tacoma PCL AAA Sea 29 46 169 31 49 10 1 7 29 82 16 36 1 0 0.290 0.367 0.485 0.852
   
     
  Advanced Stats & Splits
   
     
  Awards   SoxProspects.com Awards  
  2014 Perfect Game First-Team All-American
2014 Gatorade Georgia Baseball Player of the Year
Carolina League Player of the Week (April 17-23, 2017)
Carolina League Player of the Week (
May 22-28, 2017)
Carolina League Player of the Month (May 2017)
Red Sox Minor League Hitter of the Month (May 2017)
2017 Carolina League All-Star
2017 Carolina League All-Star Game MVP
2017 Red Sox Minor League Offensive Player of the Year
Eastern League Player of the Week (August 6-12, 2018)
American League Rookie of the Month (May 2019)
  SoxProspects.com Player of the Week (April 17-23, 2017)
SoxProspects.com Player of the Week (May 15-21, 2017)
SoxProspects.com Player of the Month (May 2017)
SoxProspects.com Player of the Week (June 19-25, 2017)
2017 SoxProspects.com Breakout Player of the Year
2017 SoxProspects.com All-Star
2018 SoxProspects.com Pre-Season All-Star
2018 SoxProspects.com Pre-Season All-Star
SoxProspects.com Player of the Week (
August 6-12, 2018)
SoxProspects.com Player of the Week (August 20-26, 2018)
SoxProspects Player of the Month (August 2018)
2019 SoxProspects.com Pre-Season All-Star
2019 SoxProspects.com Graduate of the Year
SoxProspects.com Player of the Week (June 7-13, 2021)
 
   

   
     
 
 
 
     
 
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