JESSE CHAVEZ

8/21/83; '02 42nd (Texas); Riverside (Cal) CC
R/R; 6-2, 153

Level
W-L-Sv
G
GS
IP
H
 HR
BB
K
 BB/9 K/9 WHIP OAVG
ERA
2003 A- (Tex)
2-2-1
17
8
55.0
63
 5
31
48
 5.04 7.81 1.70 .286
4.58
2004 A (Tex)
6-10-0
27
22
123.0
148
 8
35
96
 2.56 7.02 1.49 .306
4.68
2005 AA (Tex)
4-3-1
31
0
57.0
71
 10
25
27
 3.95
4.26
1.68
.316
5.68
2005 A+ (Tex)
0-0-2
11
0
24.1
16
 2
9
31
 3.33
11.47
1.03
.182
2.22
2006 AAA (Tex)
0-0-0
1
0
2.0
3
 0
0
3
 0.00
13.50
1.50
.333
4.50
2006 AAA
2-1-0
12
0
17.0
18
 0
9
15
 4.76
7.94
1.59
.273
4.24
2006 AA (Tex)
2-5-4
38
0
59.0
54
 5
28
70
 4.27
10.68
1.39
.245
4.42
2007 AAA
3-3-2
46
1
80.1
94
 4
17
65
 1.90
7.28
1.38
.290
3.92
2008 NL
0-1-0
15
0
15.0
20
2
9
16
5.40
9.60
1.93
.328
6.60
2008 AAA
2-6-14
51
0
68.2
58
8
22
70
2.88
9.17
1.17
.225
3.80

The Pirates obtained Chavez from Texas for Kip Wells at the 2006 trade deadline. He originally signed with the Rangers as a draft-and-follow. He's a fairly hard thrower—generally in the low 90s but reaching 96—who struggled as a starter, although he hasn't been that much better as a reliever beyond getting his K rate up to good levels. He wasn't impressive at Indianapolis after the trade. He did, however, have a strong fall campaign in Arizona. Chavez wasn't eligible for the Rule 5 draft and thus was not added to the 40-man roster after the season. He spent the year in AAA and didn't have an impressive season. For a guy with such good stuff, he gave up a lot of hits and his K rate was just OK, although he did improve his control. LH batters hit .326 against him. He was not added to the roster in the off-season, but was not selected in the Rule 5 draft.

Chavez returned to AAA in 2008, spending most of the season at Indianapolis and having a good year. He allowed far fewer hits and got his K rate up to a batter an inning while still not walking many. He still had a huge platoon split, as LH batters hit .282 against him and RH batters hit .177. Of course, that's better than the other way around. The Pirates added him to the roster and called him up in late August. He mostly struggled, allowing runs in seven of thirteen outings. He tended to look good against a couple hitters and then come apart. Sometimes the problem was his control and sometimes he got fastballs out over the plate. The K rate, though, provided some sign of promise. Possibly for that reason, John Russell started using Chavez in close games while the other inexperienced pitchers, like Romulo Sanchez and Marino Salas, seldom appeared in games.  Of the Pirates' numerous, hard-throwing relievers, Chavez appears to be one of the most promising, although that's not necessarily saying a lot.  He was a surprise choice for the 25-man roster at the end of spring training.  He had a terrible spring, but the competition he was facing was very poor.  The Pirates would have kept Evan Meek instead of Chavez, but Meek ran into a series of health issues.  Chavez will probably be on a very short leash once Meek is ready to go.

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