By RENALDO DORSETT
Tribune Sports Reporter
rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
Several Bahamian prospects have received their 2022 assignments in Minor League Baseball as seasons commenced in leagues across the United States.
Toronto Blue Jays prospect Chavez Young advanced to Triple-A for the first time in his career when he was assigned to the club’s affiliate in the International League, the Buffalo Bison.
Young was recently a non-roster invitee to 2022 Spring Training for the second consecutive year and spent time with the major league roster in the Grapefruit League.
Young spent his last minor league season with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in the AA Eastern League. He appeared in 78 games with the Fisher Cats and hit .265 with 74 hits and 52 RBI. He also had an .758 OPS, slugged .409 with 20 stolen bases, 41 runs scored, 15 doubles, two triples, and seven home runs.
In January, Young concluded his offseason in the final series of the Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (LBPRC), commonly known as the Puerto Rican Winter League.
D’Shawn Knowles, the Los Angeles Angels’ no.30 prospect, has been assigned to the club’s Low A-affiliate - the Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino for the second consecutive season.
In 84 games last season, he hit .227 with a .280 OBP, a .635 OBP, five home-runs, 48 RBI, and a team leading 31 stolen bases.
“The fact that Knowles is a super high-energy player is a plus, but it’s also an obstacle,”
“On the plus side, the Angels had encouraged Knowles to use that speed more aggressively on the basepaths and he responded by going 31-for-32 in stolen-base attempts last year. He’s a capable defender in center field, but showed that not only can he handle all three outfield spots, but he started getting reps at shortstop as well. If he can get back to more regular contact, he could be an athletic super-utility type.”
Knowles last appeared with the Angels main club in Spring Training 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic brought a halt to baseball.
In the 2019 season Knowles spent time with the Orem Owlz and was named to the Pioneer League’s All-Star Game roster for their midseason matchup against the Class A Short Season Northwest League.
In 64 games, he is hit .241 with a .310 OBP, .698 OPS with 61 hits, 11 doubles, four triples, six home runs, 28 RBI and five stolen bases.
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Tahnaj Thomas will reportedly head to Altoona Curve and the Double-A level for the first time.
Thomas was one of the club’s non-roster invitees to major league Spring Training in Bradenton, Florida last month.
The 22-year-old 6’5” right hand pitcher is currently ranked no.13 in the Pirates organisation, according to MLB Pipeline.
Thomas spent last season at the High A level for the first time with the Greensboro Grasshoppers.
In 16 appearances, all starts, he finished with a 3-3 record in 60.2 innings, with 62 strikeouts, an ERA of 5.19 and a 1.58 WHIP.
A Grand Bahama native, Thomas signed with the Indians in December 2016 and was traded to the Pirates in November 2018.
In a profile with MLB.com, Thomas said his struggles last season were a learning experience.
“Honestly, I feel I shouldn’t blank most of it out,” Thomas said. “I think it was a learning season for me. You have to fail to succeed. Personally, I just have to pick out the goods and bads, what I have to work on, what I have to get better with from last season and bring it into this season and get better.”
Thomas added that he patterns his game after perennial CY Young contenders Jacob deGrom, Walker Buehler, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander.
In 2019 with the Bristol Pirates of the Appalachian League, Thomas finished with a 2-3 win-loss record which also included 59 strikeouts - the most for any Bristol pitcher since 2012. In 12 starts, he pitched 48.1 innings with a 3.17 ERA and 1.12 WHIP.
As the MiLB returned after a COVID-19 cancelled 2020 season, Thomas was promoted to the Grasshoppers and High-A baseball.
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