Chavez Young: From the Bahamas to the Blue Jays

Originally from Freeport, Bahamas, Chavez Young was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 39th round of the 2016 MLB draft. Photo: Jordan McDonald

March 12, 2020

By Jordan McDonald

Canadian Baseball Network

DUNEDIN, Fla. – The Bahamas aren’t exactly known for its baseball talent, but Chavez Young is proving that your passion for the game supersedes where you were born.

Originally from Freeport, Bahamas, Young was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 39th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft. Like many international players, he experienced his own challenges before joining the Blue Jays organization.

He relies on his perseverance as he navigates his way through the Blue Jays’ minor-league system.

“I grew up playing hard,” Young said. “That’s all I’ve ever known, and it’s what our coaches pursued us to do.”

He’s known more for his speed, accumulating 68 stolen bases over the past two seasons. And despite that power is not a focal point of his game, he has batted .271 with an on-base-plus-slugging percentage of .755 over four minor-league seasons.

Another important part of his game is, he said, being “pitcher-friendly. (They) love me because they know I have their back,” Young said. “They are going to pitch their butt off because they have somebody behind them who is going to back them up.”

Young is also friendly towards his other teammates, most notably, current Toronto shortstop Bo Bichette. In 2017, he trained with Bichette and his father, Dante, a former Colorado Rockies outfielder. Young described the lessons he learned from them as invaluable and praised them for their sincerity, especially when he was at his lowest.

“When (Hurricane Dorian) was going down in the Bahamas, Bo and his family let me stay with them,” he said. “From a baseball standpoint, Dante put in the effort to make me better. He worked with me every day.”

Young’s overall knowledge of Canada may be limited, but he said he was impressed by the passion of the Vancouver Canadians’ fans when he played for the Class-A short-season team.

“I had a little taste,” he said, “and the vibes there (were) insane.”