Chris Young (youngch04)
From BR Bullpen
Christopher Brandon Young
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 2", Weight 180 lb.
- High School Bellaire High School
- Born September 5, 1983 in Houston, TX USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Chris Young is a highly-regarded outfielder with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He played in 30 games with them in 2006 and made the team in 2007. Although his 2007 batting average was low, he hit over 30 home runs in his first full major league season.
Young was taken by the Chicago White Sox in the 16th round of the 2001 amateur draft. He debuted professionally in 2002 with the AZL White Sox, hitting .217/.308/.380 and getting caught in over half of his steal attempts. In 2003, Young improved, hitting .290/.357/.479 for the Bristol Sox, stealing 21 bases in 28 tries and scoring 47 runs in 64 games. He also hit .176/.200/.265 in 10 games for the Great Falls White Sox. He made the Appalachian League All-Star team in the outfield and Baseball America rated him the league's #2 prospect behind Adam Miller.
Chris continued to blossom in 2004, batting .261/.366/.503 for the Kannapolis Intimidators. He hit 24 home runs and 31 doubles and scored 83 runs. He struck out 146 times, but drew 67 walks too. He stole 31 bases in 40 tries. His 335 putouts led South Atlantic League outfielders and his 136 games played led the league as well. He did not make the SAL All-Star team, with Josh Anderson, Brandon Moss, Delmon Young and Ryan Goleski claiming the slots. Baseball America rated him the league's #15 prospect, though.
Playing in AA at age 21, Chris hit .277/.377/.545 with the Birmingham Barons. He scored 100 runs in 126 games, cracked 41 doubles, banged out 26 homers, drove in 77, drew 70 walks, struck out 129 times and stole 32 bases in 38 tries. He led the Southern League in slugging, runs, total bases (254), extra-base hits (70) and doubles while tying Brandon Sing for the homer lead. He again missed the All-Star team, with Matt Murton, Delmon Young, Jeremy Hermida and Jerry Owens making the cut. Young was rated the league's #4 prospect by Baseball America behind Delmon Young, Hermida and Jeff Francoeur. The publication also rated him the best defensive outfielder in the SL. Chris played in the 2005 Futures Game, going 0 for 2 while playing the whole game batting 9th and playing in center for the USA.
That winter, Young was traded with Orlando Hernandez and Luis Vizcaino to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Javier Vazquez. Assigned to the Tucson Sidewinders for 2006, Young produced at a .276/.363/.532 clip. He homered 21 times, doubled 32 times, scored 78, drove in 77 and stole 17 bases in 22 tries. Baseball America ranked him as the #7 prospect in the Pacific Coast League between fellow outfielders Matt Kemp and Adam Jones.
Called up to Arizona in August, Young hit .243/.308/.386 in 30 games for the 2006 Diamondbacks.
Main sources: 2002-2007 Baseball Almanacs
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 2007 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
- 20-Home Run Seasons: 2 (2007 & 2008)
- 30-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2007)
