South Atlantic League: Michael Chavis opens season with a walkoff, Yoan Moncada will soon be in Greenville

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Roundup report of performances in the South Atlantic League over the past week. Kannapolis pitcher Jordan Guerrero strikes out 11, Michael Chavis hits a walk-off double and home run in the opening game and Cuban signed player Yoan Moncada will soon be joining him in Greenville. Stats and video highlights are included.

By Charlie77 Apr 18, 2015, 3:36pm EDT

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Opening day is the best day, and that's how Red Sox's prospect Michael Chavis performed for the Greenville Drive last week. The 19-year-old homered and launched a double for a walk-off win to start the season. Drafted 26^th overall by Boston last year, the shortstop is the No. 14 rated player in their system.

Selected out of high school in Sprayberry, Georgia, Chavis turned down an offer from Clemson in exchange for a signing bonus of $1.875 million. The right-handed hitter had a mediocre debut in 2014, batting a slash line of .269/.347/.425 in 39 games in the Gulf Coast league.

Selected as a shortstop, Chavis hasn't wowed anyone with his defense yet and is still working on carving a niche for himself in the infield. On the plus side, the Georgia native has good instincts on the bases and above average power for his position. Known as a hard worker, reports coming in say Chavis plays the game the right way.

"It's a great sign for a kid who, this is his first game under the lights, and to have him come up with the game on the line in the ninth, for him to have the ability to stay calm under pressure and come through with a good at-bat -- he smoked a ball that was a couple of feet from being a home run," Chavis' manager told Milb.com. "That's a testament to him being able to stay composed. Very great time and a great first night for him to build on."

Cherington said Yoan is expected to start @GreenvilleDrive. Seen here w/ Drive hitting coach Nelson Paulino. #SoxFarm pic.twitter.com/oMXuNHiHhp
— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) March 13, 2015

The Red Sox have an exciting infield to watch in Greenville this year, and it's only getting better once Yoan Moncada joins the team sometime next month. Signed out of Cuba for $31.5 million this spring, Boston exceeded its International signing bonus limit and were penalized a 100 percent tax on the deal.

Tabbed as a switch-hitting infielder, the 19-year-old is already getting hyped in many prospect circles and is already ranked No. 9 overall by MLB.com. His natural position resides at second base, but Mancado has also played shortstop, third base and outfield while in Cuba.

The Cuban is still in extended spring training at the moment, working on playing ‘everyday baseball,' as reported by Ryan Hannable of Fullcount in an interview with Red Sox minor league hitting coordinator Tim Hyers .

"He's definitely a gifted athlete that has a ton of potential," Hyers said. "We're excited to have him and he's worked really hard so far. It's a big adjustment jumping into professional baseball. I think he was out for a period of time and he's getting accustomed to the daily work and process of becoming a major league player. They are really happy with him so far and excited to watch him develop."

Myers also talked about how it's too early to tell if Mancado wil be more of a power hitter or a contact guy and that he's shown flashes of both so far. The timetable for his assignment hasn't been set yet and Myers indicated it could be sometime within in the next month.

Jordan Guerrero strikes out 11

Jordan Guerrero is off to a hot start, allowing just four hits while pitching 12 innings of shutout ball in his first two starts. Wednesday was Guerrero's latest outing, where he allowed just two hits over six scoreless innings for Kannapolis. The California native struck out six batters in his opening game, and followed that up with 11 K's and nearly finished out a seven inning complete game as part of a double header.

A left-handed pitcher in the White Sox organization, Guerrero was drafted out of high school in the 15^th round from Moorpark, California.Hampered by a shoulder injury that cost him most of 2013, Guerrero was moved to the pen for most of 2014, but has since bounced back and has reclaimed his starting role.

"Pitches were a little high, second outing, long season," Guerrero told Milb.com. "Can't go wrong with that kind of game where the whole team played good, offense hitting the ball, defense making some plays."

The lefthander has allowed just four hits in a pair of starts, relying on his changeup and low-90's fastball. Jordan is still working on his curveball, a reason which may explain why he is repeating Low-A and in his fourth year of eligibility.

Guerrero has a career ERA of 3.26, but needs to make a run through the higher levels soon if he's going to maintain his prospect status.

Top Performers of the Week

Hitters

Name	Age	Tm	Aff	PA	2B	3B	HR	SB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Chad Johnson	21	LEX	KCR	18	3	0	0	1	2	0.500	0.611	0.714	1.325
Wes Rogers	21	AVL	COL	32	0	1	1	10	4	0.385	0.500	0.577	1.077
John Riley	21	AUG	SFG	33	2	2	0	0	11	0.357	0.438	0.571	1.009
Eduard Pinto*	20	HCK	TEX	25	2	1	0	1	1	0.391	0.440	0.565	1.005
Carlos Tocci	19	LWD	PHI	41	3	0	1	4	3	0.361	0.439	0.528	0.967
Nick Longhi*	19	GRV	BOS	32	2	0	2	0	4	0.310	0.375	0.586	0.961
Alex Murphy	20	DEL	BAL	38	3	0	2	0	7	0.303	0.368	0.576	0.944
Deiner Lopez	21	GRV	BOS	21	0	1	0	0	7	0.368	0.429	0.474	0.902
Javier Guerra	19	GRV	BOS	24	2	0	1	0	7	0.318	0.348	0.545	0.893
Jomar Reyes	18	DEL	BAL	35	1	2	0	1	9	0.300	0.400	0.467	0.867

Pitchers

Name	Age	Tm	Aff	GS	IP	HR	H9	BB9	SO9	WHIP	ERA
Elniery Garcia*	20	LWD	PHI	1	6	0	6.0	1.5	6.0	0.833	0.00
Jordan Guerrero*	21	KAN	CHW	2	12	0	3.0	1.5	12.8	0.500	0.00
Thaddius Lowry	20	KAN	CHW	1	6	0	4.5	1.5	6.0	0.667	0.00
John Sever*	21	CHL	PIT	1	6	0	7.5	1.5	12.0	1.000	0.00
Collin Wiles	21	HCK	TEX	1	6	0	6.0	0.0	1.5	0.667	0.00
Zach Jemiola	21	AVL	COL	2	12	1	3.0	1.5	7.5	0.500	0.75
Helmis Rodriguez*	21	AVL	COL	2	11.2	1	7.7	1.5	4.6	1.029	0.77
Max Povse	21	ROM	ATL	2	10	1	5.4	2.7	8.1	0.900	0.90
Pedro Fernandez	21	LEX	KCR	1	8.1	0	3.2	2.2	10.8	0.600	1.08
Chris Oliver	21	LWD	PHI	1	5	0	9.0	3.6	9.0	1.400	1.80

Phillies: No. 16 prospect Carlos Tocci doubles and talks about his grandslam.