Yan LaChapelle

Yan Jean-Louis LaChapelle

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 190 lb.

• School Wayland Baptist University
• High School Cégep de Saint-Laurent

• Born October 26, 1975 in Hull, QC Canada

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Yan LaChapelle pitched for five seasons in the minor leagues and for Team Canada.

LaChapelle was taken by the Toronto Blue Jays in the third round of the 1996 amateur draft, the 69th overall pick (between Brent Butler and Joe Fraser). Only three Canadians had been drafted higher before LaChapelle - Chris Reitsma (1st rnd), Martin Mainville (2nd) and Ryan Dempster (3rd rnd, 65th overall). His signing bonus was over $200,000. He threw four perfect innings for the 1996 St. Catharines Blue Jays, fanning eight.

In 1997, he was 7-7 with 3 saves and a 3.26 ERA for the Hagerstown Suns, allowing only 73 hits in 118 2/3 IP but walking 74. He was 4th in the South Atlantic League in walks (between Cedrick Bowers and Ken Pumphrey). He had the lowest ERA of any Blue Jays farmhand with over 100 innings pitched and was 5th in Ks (between Derek Brandow and Clayton Andrews) but also tied Mike Romano for second in walks.

In 1998, Yan posted a 11-8, 3.99 record for the Dunedin Blue Jays, with 126 strikeouts in 126 1/3 IP. He tied for 7th in the Florida State League in wins, tied for sixth in the Toronto chain in that department. He fell to 2-3 with a save and a 5.24 ERA for Dunedin in 1999. He was 2-0 with a 3.27 ERA for Team Canada when they won the Bronze Medal in the 1999 Pan American Games, Canada's first baseball medal ever in the Pan American Games. He led the staff in wins, tying José Contreras for the lead in the event, despite having Canada's second-highest ERA (only Chad Ricketts was higher). He only allowed 6 hits in 11 innings.

LaChapelle rebounded to 5-1, 2.60 for Dunedin in 2000, with 27 walks in 55 1/3 IP. Shoulder injuries ended his career. He finished his pro career 25-19 with four saves and a 3.64 ERA in 86 games (53 starts), with two shutouts. He gave up just 275 hits in 349 innings and struck out 334; he walked 181.

Sources

• 2000 Baseball Almanac
• SABR Quebec