Chapman draws elite comparisons
MESA, Ariz. — When Matt Chapman was a sophomore in high school, he was stuck on the bench because El Toro in Orange County had a pretty good shortstop named Nolan Arenado.
“I sat and watched him play,” Chapman said. “I learned as much as I could from him defensively.”
Flash forward nine years, and Chapman, the A’s top prospect, is drawing comparisons to friend and former teammate Arenado, the Rockies’ All-Star third baseman.
“He reminds me of Nolan,” Oakland shortstop Marcus Semien said. “He’s worked with him in the offseason, and that’s who he strives to be like.
“There are three third basemen in the game who are the best — Manny Machado, Josh Donaldson and Arenado — and Matt could be one of those guys. He’s one of the most talented guys in this clubhouse, if not the most talented.”
Manager Bob Melvin mentions his former Giants teammate Matt Williams when asked about Chapman, and Oakland third baseman Trevor Plouffe sees some Donaldson, the former A’s third baseman, too.
“He looks like Donaldson to me in the box and Arenado on defense,” Plouffe said. “I’m not saying he’s as good as those guys right now, but I see it. When he gets in the box, he has that shoulder lean thing like Donaldson, and he has that pop. I tell him all the time, ‘Don’t let it go to your head.’ I don’t mind projecting that on him; I think he can handle it.”
Chapman, 23, might be the best and the brightest of the A’s young core group of players. His defense is superb, and he is batting .250 this spring with two homers, including a three-run shot Saturday off Rich Hill of the Dodgers.
Donaldson is certainly someone the right-handed hitting Chapman has studied, along with Mike Trout.
“I like to watch how those guys swing the bat,” he said. “Obviously, a lot of things those guys do, you can’t duplicate, so it’s kind of seeing what works for you and what might not work.”
Four-time Gold Glove winner Arenado, though, is the man for Chapman when it comes to fielding. “He just made me a better player, watching him every day and working with him, taking ground balls. You challenge yourself to compete and be as good as him,” Chapman said.
Chapman had some struggles last season at Double-A Midland, where he hit .244, and Triple-A Nashville, where he hit .197, but he finished with 36 homers and 96 RBIs between the two levels.
“Considering it was my first full season healthy, it was a great learning experience for me, successes and failures,” he said. “I had one bad stretch and I thought, ‘Oh, no, I ruined everything.’ I wasn’t showing it, but inside I was kind of beating myself up a bit. But I kept working with the coaches, and at the end of the season I saw a lot of positives.”
He’ll be at Nashville to open this season, but Chapman is likely to play in the Bay Bridge Series against the Giants this week. He’ll be up later in the season, certainly in September.
“You’ve got to be hungry, and he is,” said Plouffe.
“He’s knocking, and he’s about to open the door to the big leagues.”