Article: Futures Game Preview: J.T. Chargois

[Cody Christie]

When the Twins drafted J.T. Chargois in the second round in 2012, there were plenty of unknowns. The right-handed pitcher out of Rice University played both sides of the ball in college. This limited him to just 72 combined innings on the mound across three college seasons.

 

After signing with the Twins, he was assigned to Elizabethton and served as the team's closer in the middle of the playoff hunt. The E-Twins would go on to win the Appalachian League Championship and Chargois would combine to post a 1.69 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP across 16 innings. His fastball could hit the high 90s and it looked like he could move through the system very quickly.Chargois did not make it out of extended spring training in 2013 as he dealt with elbow issues. In fact, he wouldn't take the mound in 2013 or 2014 as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. Most pitchers miss one year because of this injury and surgery but he missed two years because the Twins wanted him to try rehab before going under the knife.

 

By 2015, Chargois was ready to return. He made 48 appearances between Fort Myers and Chattanooga as he combined for a 2.62 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and a 53 to 25 strikeout to walk ratio. He ended the year on quite the run. Over his last 18 appearances (19.2 IP), he allowed one earned run and posted a 24 to 9 strikeout to walk ratio as opponents were limited to a .164 BA.

 

Chargois was clearly back on the prospect radar and the Twins added him to their 40-man roster.

He ended the 2015 season at Double-A and that's where he started the 2016 campaign. After posting a 2.73 ERA with the Lookouts last year, Chargois lowered that mark to 1.54 on the way to collecting seven saves. His time in Rochester might be even better as he has posted a 30 to 5 strikeout to walk rate along with lowering his WHIP from 1.32 at Double-A to 1.02 at Triple-A.

 

His MLB debut was a disaster as he allowed five earned runs in 0.2 innings. He walked a pair of batters and failed to record a strikeout. His 67.50 ERA at the big league level is tough to look at but it hasn't impacted his performance in the minors. The Twins were faced with a bit of a roster crunch so this was the only MLB appearance Chargois has made. One would have to think that it left a bad taste in his mouth.

 

Maybe his Futures Game roster spot was a reward for being sent down after his rough debut. There are only 10 pitchers on the U.S roster so there is a good chance that he will get to collect at least an inning of work. This will be the 18th edition of the Futures Game and it will take place on Sunday, July 10, at Petco Park in San Diego (6 PM CST on MLB Network).

 

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[Han Joelo]

I hope the future is soon for J.T.  Good luck.  

[HitInAPinch]

"played both sides of the ball in college."  A ball is round.  There are no sides   :-)

 

Saw a couple of his appearances in Spring Training.  It's not just heat, it's easy heat.

Forget about the MLB debut.  Stuff happens.  I'd give strong consideration to working Chargois into the Twins bullpen after the AllStar break.

[Mike Sixel]

Good write up. Good luck to him!

[h2oface]

One appearance. I believe a couple of those runs were let cross the plate as a gift from a following relief expert - the inherited runs scored experts. How many relievers have a bad outing? It is past due time for his return. He should have been given more appearances the first round.

[Brock Beauchamp]

One appearance. I believe a couple of those runs were let cross the plate as a gift from a following relief expert - the inherited runs scored experts. How many relievers have a bad outing? It is past due time for his return. He should have been given more appearances the first round.

Yes, yes, and yes.

[John Kelsey]

Didn't get to watch, but apparently I didn't miss much. Rough outing for JT. 

[King]

Chih-Wei Hu looked good.

[bluechipper]

Keith Law wrote that Chargois struggled, and he has an "ugly short-arm delivery."

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/keith-law/insider/post?id=5333

[Otto von Ballpark]

While it wasn't a successful outing in the Futures Game, it looks like a similar situation to his MLB debut -- a few base runners and little chance to clean up his own mess:

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2016_07_10_wftmin_uftmin_1#game=2016_07_10_wftmin_uftmin_1,game_state=Wrapup,game_tab=play-by-play

 

A full count walk, a single to right, and then an RBI single to left.  The next reliever went single-walk-double to plate the last two of Chargois' baserunners (and then some).

 

I guess Chargois hit the rough pitch limit, thanks to the walk and the 3 ball count to the next batter, although it would have been nice to see him face another guy or two.  The first two guys he faced, who worked the count, are both hitting .320-.340 on the year with good contact skills.  The third guy, who has MLB experience too, only saw 2 pitches, and he struck one hard to left but it possibly should have been stopped by the 3B:

http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/188659034/v920873283/wldusa-herrera-increases-world-lead-with-rbi/

 

He may continue struggling in MLB or when facing top prospects, but I'm not sure that continuing to pitch in Rochester is going to help him address those issues either.

[h2oface]

Damn. Another spotlight, and another tank. It would be nice if they didn't create a mess that needs cleaned up in the first place! When will our guys be the ones that step up and shine instead of tank? Mentally, they just don't seem to be ready or prepared.

Edited July 12, 2016 by h2oface

[h2oface]

Keith Law wrote that Chargois struggled, and he has an "ugly short-arm delivery."

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/keith-law/insider/post?id=5333

And then there was this.... sigh.....

 

Tampa Bay right-hander Chih-Wei Hu, picked up from Minnesota last July in a trade for Kevin Jepsen (since released by the Twins), was also impressive, throwing 94-97 mph with an out pitch in his palmball that comes in at 89-91 with splitter-like bottom. He comes from a three-quarters slot with a little deception, so while the fastball doesn't have a lot of plane I don't think it's as vulnerable as it might otherwise be.