136 replies to this topic

[theeagleman5]

You mentioned Chance Chapman, TMH and he had a great season last summer for the Phillies farm team in Williamsport, PA...he was 5-2 as a starter with a 2.09 ERA and almost a strikeout per inning....looks like he could move up to a better A ball team in the organization this season...probably Lakewood, NJ or Clearwater, Fla.....

[tmh8286]

That's great!  Always love to hear about previous ORU players doing well.  Chance was a great player at ORU.

[Elroy]

I was watching Giants / Rangers today and Holman had the last at bat.

Tom grieve and the other announcer talked about ORU in Tulsa.

[tmh8286]

Speaking of Chance Chapman, I did a little digging around in my memorabilia bag of tricks, and found this from his 2005 summer league:

 

[theeagleman5]

I could see Chapman in the Phillies pen perhaps in the next year or two...this is a big year for him to move up...if he pitches in Lakewood, i am less than an hour away...i will drive over to watch him....

[jmg1984]

does anyone know how many oru players are on the 40 man rosters and their chances of making the big leagues?

[theeagleman5]

chapman is not on the Phillies 40 man roster....rosters are not set yet but i would anticipate him playing at Lakewood, NJ or Clearwater, FL which are phillies A teams....maybe by the end of the year he will be ready for some AA ball in Reading, PA....the Phillies need some pitching....badly!

[orumom]

I think we have better than this shows:
http://www.baseball-...l_players.shtml

[ORUalum]

doug bernier hit .310 for the AAA Colorado Springs Sky Sox last year.  he could be ORU's best shot to get called up at some point.


Full Name: Douglas Paul Bernier
Born: 06/24/1980
Birthplace: Santa Maria, CA
College: Oral Roberts University, OK
Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 175
Bats: R
Throws: R

Doug Bernier - Stats

[Bogus Smith]

ORUalum said:

doug bernier hit .310 for the AAA Colorado Springs Sky Sox last year.  he could be ORU's best shot to get called up at some point.

I wouldn't count on it.  Not to sound negative, but as long as Colorado has Troy Tulowitzki (who signed the largest second-year player contract in MLB history) at shortstop, the Rockies aren't going to need any infield help anytime soon.  Additionally, the Rockies have Clint Barnes (the Rockies' AAA regular shortstop) and Jayson Nix (Rockies' AAA regular second baseman) on the 40-man roster going into spring training.  If either of the Rockies' regular infielders go down, those guys will get the first call-up before Doug.

Doug had a respectable season last year for the Sky Sox, but when he was in Tulsa, he was not regarded as a prospect in the Rockies' organization.  He was regarded as a better than average glove in the field and an average bat.  He may be trade bait for the Rockies to a team that needs a utility infielder.  He could also be relegated to a minor league journeyman.  Regardless, he has some good skills that a team could rely on at a level slightly less than a Keith Lockhart or Keith Miller (for those that remember them back in the day).

[redhammer]

For part of Doug's career in Tulsa, he was even relegated to the role of Utility man here at AA.  Great glove,  weak bat.  Struggled to stay above the Mendoza line for a couple of seasons here.  Though, he has seemed to recently find a way to get his batting average up.  Any chance he has will be as a defensive specialist.

[tmh8286]

orumom said:

I think we have better than this shows:
http://www.baseball-...l_players.shtml

Actually, mom that list matches the players listed in the media guide.  The media guide doesn't include Larry Casian - he must have transfered to Cal State Fullerton.

[theeagleman5]

Chance Chapman has been assigned to the Phillies farm club in Lakewood, NJ...the BlueClaws are A league ball and this is a step up for him from last summer...perhaps if he has a good first few months he could be promoted to Clearwater FL which is a higher A league team....the good news is that Lakewood is only about an hour from where TheEagleman lives and less than 30 minutes from my office...so i will probably be headed over there with my buds to watch Chance pitch sometime in May......

[theeagleman5]

Chance did not do well in his first outing for the Class A BlueClaws...he walked 3 guys and blew a save....but came back in his second game with 2 scoreless innings....he appears to be being used as the set up man in the bullpen at this time....Lakewood has lost 4 of its first 5 games...

[tmh8286]

It's interestig to watch how some of these guys that are such GREAT players at ORU can be average players even at the single A level.  It just illustrates what exceptional athletes those guys are that make it to the majors - and the work it takes to get there.

[theeagleman5]

good point, tmh....the ball that ORU plays is about equal to A ball...the top 10 NCAA schools might be able to compete at AA level but that might be a stretch....if Chance has a good season, he is still at least 2 yrs away from getting a shot in the majors.....this is an important year for him.....but the fact that he did move up is good...you can follow his progress at lakewoodblueclaws.com :-D

[theeagleman5]

It seems that Lakewood struggling at 5-7 in the first 2 weeks of the season has moved Chance into the starting rotation...he got a start last Sat. night and went 4 innings...gave up 5 hits and 1 run....had 3 SO and 2 Walks....he did not factor in the decision and his current ERA is 3.86 in 4 appearances thus far for the Phillies Class A team..the Phils need middle relief....maybe a chance for Chance??? :-D

[theeagleman5]

The streaking Class A Lakewood BlueClaws won 10-3 on Tuesday night thanks mostly to some outstanding hitting and also an excellent starting effort from Chance Chapman....the former ORU star went 6 innings giving up only 4 hits and 1 run...he had 4 SO and 1 walk...his record is now even at 1-1 and his ERA is down to 2.37..... :-D

[tmh8286]

Thanks for the updates, eagleman.  Keep 'em coming!

[theeagleman5]

Chapman had his best game of the season for Lakewood this afternoon pitching a complete game and giving up only 1 unearned run and 3 hits...he had 6 Ks and 0 walks....unfortunately, the BlueClaws did nothing with the bats and Chance took a 1-0 loss...he is now 1-2 with an incredible ERA of 1.67...he has now thrown 27 innings in 7 appearances...21 Ks and only 8 walks...Lakewood is now 11-13 for the season....Chapman seems to have cemented his spot in the starting rotation...he has the lowest ERA on the staff and this was the first complete game by any pitcher.... :-)