C.J. Chatham

Connor James Chatham

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 185 lb.

• School Florida Atlantic University
• High School American Heritage High School

• Born December 22, 1994 in Fort Lauderdale, FL USA

BR register page

Biographical Information

C.J. Chatham has played as high as AAA and has been on Team USA.

Chatham hit .444 as a high school junior and .416 as a senior. He batted .300/.336/.415 as a college freshman and .335/.361/.496 as a sophomore, with 22 doubles in 60 games. He tied for the Conference USA lead in two-baggers and made All-Conference. With the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod League, he hit .253/.296/.413. His junior year at FAU, he hit .357/.422/.554 with 50 RBI in 58 games. He won the Conference Player of the Year.

The Boston Red Sox took him in the 2nd round of the 2016 amateur draft; he was the highest pick in school history. The scout was Willie Romay. He was Boston's second pick as they went with Jay Groome in round one. He made his pro debut that summer with the Lowell Spinners (.259/.319/.426 in 27 G) and GCL Red Sox (.167/.200/.375 in 8 G). Baseball America named him the #13 prospect in the New York-Penn League, between Keegan Akin and Austin Hays. The shortstop's progress took a hit in 2017 when he missed almost the whole season with a left hamstring injury, playing only 6 games for the GCL Red Sox (.313/.389/.500) and one for the Greenville Drive (1 for 3).

Healthy again in 2018, he hit .307/.329/.413 in 19 games for Greenville and .315/.355/.384 in 95 for the Salem Red Sox. He was 2nd in the Carolina League in average, .003 behind Ian Sagdal, but did not make the top 10 in OBP or slugging as his offense relied heavily on singles. Among Red Sox farmhands, only Rusney Castillo had a higher average among those with 400+ plate appearances. He did not make the All-Star team as Anderson Tejeda was picked at short. Baseball America did rank him the 15th-best prospect in the Carolina League, between Brandon Bielak and Meibrys Viloria.

He had a very similar 2019: .297/.333/.403 in 90 games for the Portland Sea Dogs and .302/.330/.430 in 20 for the Pawtucket Red Sox. He was showing more pop with 31 doubles and stole 7 bases in 8 tries but drew only 22 walks. He won the Eastern League batting title by .011 ahead of Jose Azocar but again was not in the top 10 in OBP or slugging. He led Red Sox farmhands in doubles and was second to Jarren Duran in average. He was named the EL All-Star shortstop, joining teammate Bobby Dalbec, who was picked at third base. He hit .243/.289/.314 for the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League.

Chatham joined Dalbec and fellow Red Sox farmhands Tanner Houck and Noah Song on Team USA for the 2019 Premier 12. Starting at second ahead of a fellow 2019 batting champion, Xavier Edwards, he hit .292/.292/.417 while fielding .966 (another batting champ from 2019, Jake Cronenworth, manned short, moving Chatham to 2B). In a low-offense event (.221/.299/.335), his numbers were certainly solid. He just missed the top 10 in hits. He did not get the All-Star nod, which went to Ryosuke Kikuchi. Hitting 9th in the Bronze Medal Game (with a 2020 Olympics spot for the victor), he was 1 for 3 with a double in a 3-2 loss to Mexico; it was one of two extra-base hits for the US that day.