Chase d'Arnaud

Chase Jonathan d'Arnaud

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 175-201 lb.
• School Pepperdine University
• High School Los Alamitos High School
• Debut June 24, 2011
• Final Game September 30, 2018
• Born January 21, 1987 in Torrance, CA USA

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Biographical Information

Chase d'Arnaud made his major league debut in 2011. He is the brother of Travis d'Arnaud.

D'Arnaud hit .512 as a high school senior. The Los Angeles Dodgers took him in the 44th round of the 2005 amateur draft but he did not sign. Going on to Pepperdine University, Chase hit .282/.353/.385. He was named All-West Coast Conference at third base. Collegiate Baseball named him a Freshman All-American. In the summer, he was with the Anchorage Glacier Pilots. Baseball America rated him the #8 prospect in the Alaska Baseball League.

His sophomore season, d'Arnaud hit .331/.371/.406. He struggled with wood bats that summer, batting .185/.232/.300 for the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod League. As a junior, Chase hit .314/.415/.547. He drove in 50 in 59 games. The 2010 Pirates Media Guide lists him as being All-WCC first-team but the 2009 Baseball Almanac does not concur. The Pittsburgh Pirates took him in the 4th round of the 2008 amateur draft, their third infielder taken after Pedro Alvarez and Jordy Mercer. He was signed by scout Rick Allen and began his pro career that summer.

In 2008, d'Arnaud hit .286/.333/.423 in his pro debut for the State College Spikes. He stole 14 bases in 16 tries as well, tying for 9th in the New York-Penn League in swipes. Baseball America rated him the top State College prospect, #18 overall in the NYPL between Ike Davis and Cord Phelps.

The Torrance naitve began 2009 with the West Virginia Power and hit .291/.394/.427 with 17 steals in 20 tries over 62 games. He also fielded .976 at short and made the South Atlantic League midseason All-Star team. At the halfway point of the year, he was called up to the Lynchburg Hillcats to replace Alvarez on the infield, who was promoted to AA. With the 2009 Lynchburg Hillcats, he split shortstop with Mercer and also played 25 games at second. He hit .295/.402/.481 with 45 runs and 19 doubles in 54 games with Lynchburg. He then had 7 RBI in the 3 games of the Carolina League finals to win MVP honors there. Had he qualified, he would have ranked 10th in the SAL in average and 3rd in the Carolina League behind Robbie Widlansky and Clint Robinson. D'Arnaud was rated the #13 prospect in the Carolina League by Baseball America, right ahead of Jordan Danks. The publication also rated him the #5 prospect in the Pirates chain and their Best Athlete.

Sent to the Arizona Fall League, Chase hit .296/.440/.419 and stole a league-high 13 bases. He began 2010 with the Altoona Curve. He was a late addition to the Western Division roster for the Eastern League All-Star Game, but took full opportunity to shine in the spotlight offered him, hitting a 7th-inning grand slam in the 10-3 win and took home MVP honors. He finished the season hitting .247/.331/.377 in 132 games for Altoona, his worst batting line as a pro. He also made 28 errors at short, tying Carlos Rivero for the EL lead.

Still, the Pirates moved him up to the AAA Indianapolis Indians in 2011 and he did much better, hitting .280/.347/.418 in 62 games through the end of June. He was called up to Pittsburgh to replace Josh Harrison as the third baseman while Pedro Alvarez was out with an injury. He made his major league debut on June 24th, batting second and playing third base against the Boston Red Sox. He went 1 for 3 with a triple and a sacrifice hit in his debut, as the Pirates won, 3-1. His triple came off Jon Lester; he was the first Pirate to get a triple as his first major league hit since Chance Sanford in 1998. He played a total of 48 games for the Pirates, splitting time mainly between shortstop and third base, but hit only .217, with a terrible .242 OBP. He did hit 6 doubles and a pair of triples, and was 12 for 14 in stolen base attempts. He slugged .287 and had a 46 OPS+, showing his offense clearly wasn't ready for the big time. He also didn't field particularly well, fielding .936 at short and .929 at third. D'Arnaud was praised for his speed and hustle.

D'Arnaud was sent down relatively early in spring training 2012 as Pittsburgh went to newcomer Clint Barmes at short and Alvarez at third while Harrison and Yamaico Navarro made the team as backup infielders. He spent most of the season at Indianapolis, playing 98 games and hitting .252 with 6 homers and 38 RBIs. He was back in Pittsburgh for 8 games, but only went 0 for 6 as he got to start only one contest. In 2013, he was slowed by an injury which had him undertake short rehabilitation stints in Bradenton and Altoona. With Indianapolis, he hit .233 in 61 games, with 4 homers and 20 RBIs. The Pirates did not call him up to the big club as they enjoyed their first winning season in two decades, Jordy Mercer having done well as Barmes' backup and beginning to take over more playing time. When spring training opened in 2014, he had fallen well down on the depth chart and before Grapefruit League games started, he was designated for assignment to free up a roster spot for infielder Brent Morel, claimed off waivers from Toronto on February 24th.

On the side, d'Arnaud is a singer who fronts his own band. His musical talent comes from his mother, who is a classically-trained singing instructor.

Sources

• Pepperdine bio
• 2006-2010 Baseball Almanacs
• Unofficial Pirates mailing list
• Cape Cod League

Related Sites

• Chase d'Arnaud on mlb.com
• article from mlb.com about d'Arnaud's major league debut