The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

MORE Bahamian pro baseball players learned their assignments for the upcoming 2021 season as Minor League Baseball returns this week.

Detroit Tigers prospect Chavez Fernander has been assigned to the club’s High A-affiliate, the West Michigan Whitecaps.

Fernander last appeared with the Connecticut Tigers in the New York-Penn League in the 2019 season.

In 11 appearances with eight starts, he went 2-2 with a 2.31 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 35 innings.

In his first professional season, Fernander spent time with the GCL Tigers in the Gulf Coast League before a brief call up to Connecticut. He finished 4-1 with a 1.59 ERA, 41 strikeouts and five saves.

Fernander was selected by the Detroit Tigers organisation in 2018 in the 35th round with the 1,035th overall pick. The 6’3” 205 pound right-handed pitcher was drafted out of Polk Community College after his sophomore season. In 17 appearances with nine starts, Fernander posted an 8-4 win-loss record with 63 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.09 in 58.1 innings.

Toronto Blue Jays No. 29 prospect, Chavez Young, has been assigned to the club’s Double A-affiliate, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats

Young, a 23-year-old outfielder, spent his offseason with the Canberra Cavalry in the Australian Baseball League. Limited by quarantine restrictions and a foot injury, he appeared in just seven of the 23 regular season games for the Cavalry. He hit .217 with a .467 OPS, five hits, two runs, one RBI, five total bases and two stolen bases.

Young made his third consecutive Spring Training appearance with the club in Dunedin, Florida as one of the club’s 28 non-roster invitees.

“[Young] has impressive speed,” MLB.com said in a positional breakdown of the non-roster invitees, “Keep an eye on him in centre field if he sees playing time, as his ability to stick at that position long term will be key.” Young was also called up to Spring Training prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and in his short time there, impressed the Blue Jays’ front office in the Grapefruit League both on the field and to move up the rankings and entered the top 30 on the prospect list.

In his last full season of baseball, Young appeared in 111 games in 2019 with the Lansing Lugnuts in Single A-Advanced baseball. He hit .247 with 99 hits and 43 RBI. He also had an .669 OPS, slugged .354 with 24 stolen bases, 53 runs scored, 17 doubles, four triples, and six home runs. In 2018, Young led the Lugnuts in batting average, runs scored, and stolen bases. Defensively, playing in centre and right field, he totaled 15 outfield assists along with 290 putouts and a .984 fielding percentage. He was named a Midwest League All-Star.

Detroit Tigers prospect Chavez Fernander has been assigned to the club’s High A-affiliate, the West Michigan Whitecaps.

Fernander last appeared with the Connecticut Tigers in the New York-Penn League in the 2019 season.

In 11 appearances with eight starts, he went 2-2 with a 2.31 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 35 innings.

In his first professional season, Fernander spent time with the GCL Tigers in the Gulf Coast League before a brief call up to Connecticut. He finished 4-1 with a 1.59 ERA, 41 strikeouts and five saves.

Fernander was selected by the Detroit Tigers organisation in 2018 the 35th round with the 1035th overall pick. The 6’3” 205 pound right-handed pitcher was drafted out of Polk Community College after his sophomore season. In 17 appearances with nine starts, Fernander posted an 8-4 win-loss record with 63 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.09 in 58.1 innings.

Off the field issues will delay the start to Kristian Robinson’s 2021 season in the minor leagues.

Ranked No.2 in the Arizona Diamondbacks organisation, Robinson was arrested on April 5, 2020 and charged with aggravated assault of a peace officer in Arizona, according to the Associated Press.

The 20-year-old outfielder said in a statement that he was struggling with mental health issues at the time.

“Like so many, last year I was struggling to manage the stress of my personal life, the shutdown of the game I love and the overall global pandemic,” Robinson said in a statement. “While struggling with my mental health I acted out of character and I was involved in an incident that I take full responsibility for. I would like to apologize to Trooper Lough and to my family, teammates, coaches and the D-backs organization, who I am extremely grateful to for supporting me through this very difficult situation.”

He continues to work out his visa issues in an effort to return to the organisation and continue his career.

The Diamondbacks also released a statement: “We have been intimately involved in helping Kristian deal with these personal issues since they first took place last year, working closely with him and his representatives to address these challenges. We do not condone in any way his behavior and recognize the serious nature of these accusations, including the consequences of those actions.

“We have personally known Kristian for more than four years and believe in him as a person and have witnessed first-hand the steps he has taken to address these issues, get the help he needs, and commit himself to being better in the future.”

Robinson began the 2019 season at the Class A - Short Season level with the Hillsboro Hops.

In 44 games with the Hops, he hit .319 with 52 hits, 10 doubles, scored 29 runs, 35 RBI, nine home runs, an OBP of .407, OPS of .966, and slugging .558 with 14 stolen bases.

In August, he was called up to the Kane County Cougars, where he concluded the remainder of the season in the Class A Midwest League.

In 25 games with the Cougars, he hit .217 with 20 hits, three doubles, scored 14 runs, 16 RBI, five home runs, an OBP of .294, OPS of .729, and slugging .435 with three stolen bases.

Robinson was added to Arizona’s 60-man player pool toward the end of last season and the club assigned him to its alternative training site at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Arizona during the pandemic.