Cubs prospect INF/OF Chesny Young wins Southern League Batting Crown, led league in On-Base Percentage
For the second season in a row a Cubs prospect won the Southern League Batting Crown. INF/OF Chesny Young went 1-for-2 in Double-A Tennessee’s season finale and finished the season with a .303 batting average and his second straight batting title.
Chesny Young was the Carolina League batting champ a year ago with High-A Myrtle Beach.
Young is the second Cubs prospect to win the Southern League batting title in the last two seasons. Willson Contreras led the Southern League in hitting last year with a .333 average. Contreras finished last season with a .333/.413/.478 line with 34 doubles, four triples and eight home runs for a .891 OPS.
Chesny Young (.303) beat out Reds’ prospect Sebastian Elizalde (.297) by four points. Young was the only player to finish with a .300 or better average in the Southern League.
Young hit .303/.376/.387 with 25 doubles, two triples and four home runs for a .763 OPS. Young had 149 hits, 57 walks with 64 strikeouts and 190 total bases in 126 games.
Chesny Young also led the Southern League in on-base percentage, edging out teammate Victor Caratini (.375).
Young was second in hits (149), had the seventh most doubles (25) and finished eighth in the league in total bases (190). Young’s .763 OPS was good enough for sixth in the Southern League.
Chesny Young hit .321/.394/.388 with 18 doubles, three triples and a home run in 102 games last season for High-A Myrtle Beach in route to the Carolina League Batting Crown.
The Cubs selected the 23-year old infielder/outfielder in the 14th round of the 2014 draft. Young turns 24 next month (Oct. 3) and he’s put together quite the resume in just two full seasons in the organization.
According to the Sun-Times, Theo Epstein described Young as “a magician with a bat in his hand” earlier this season. The Cubs would like to see him develop more gap power.
Chesny Young had another excellent season after making adjustments in the second half. Young hit .333/.370/.473 in August after batting close to .300 with an OBP just below .400 in July. Young batted .316/.374/.414 with 17 doubles and two home runs for a .788 OPS in 66 games.
• Chesny Young’s Page on MiLB.com
Congratulations to Chesny Young on winning the Southern League Batting Title and for leading his league in hitting for the second straight season.