Comment on Nolan Arenado taught A’s Matt Champan his defensive skills

By Susan Slusser, San Francisco Chronicle: Sports
Sat, 03/25/2017 - 4:43pm

Nolan Arenado taught A’s Matt Champan his defensive skills

Nolan Arenado taught A’s Matt Champan his defensive skills When Matt Chapman was a sophomore in high school, he was stuck on the bench because El Toro in Orange County had a pretty good shortstop named Nolan Arenado. “I sat and watched him play,” Chapman said. Flash forward nine years, and Chapman, the A’s top prospect, is drawing comparisons to friend and former teammate Arenado, the Rockies’ All-Star third baseman. Manager Bob Melvin mentions his former Giants teammate Matt Williams when asked about Chapman, and Oakland third baseman Trevor Plouffe sees some Donaldson, the former A’s third baseman, too. Chapman, 23, might be the best and the brightest of the A’s young core group of players. “I like to watch how those guys swing the bat,” he said. Chapman had some struggles last season at Double-A Midland, where he hit .244, and Triple-A Nashville, where he hit .197, but he finished with 36 homers and 96 RBIs between the two levels. “Considering it was my first full season healthy, it was a great learning experience for me, successes and failures,” he said.

 

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