Player in the Spotlight: Chris Shelton

In the 33rd round, the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted a player from the University of Utah. The franchise needed someone to fill in on their minor league clubs and took a gamble. This Utah Ute didn’t come from a place like the University of Texas or Clemson, but he could hit. In his final season with the Utes, our protagonist batted .374. To say he dominated while standing next to the plate would be an understatement.

From there, the brand new Pirate began to experience life in the Minor Leagues. In short season A ball, he was limited to a .305 batting average. The further he moved up the organization ladder, the more he kept producing, culminating in a Carolina League MVP season in 2003, hitting 21 homers with a .359 batting average. In all, the offense oriented (meaning all bat, no glove) player had a .332 minor league average (the exact same as Conor Jackson of the Diamondbacks) and 48 homers. In other words, this guy became a steal that late in the draft; everyone got ready to congratulate the Pirates’ organization on their brilliant talent evaluation and minor league instruction.

However, this sadly became the end of his career with the Bucs. A promotion to Double A in 2003, where he didn’t really sting the ball as much as earlier in his career, would be the final time he played for the Pirates’ franchise. They left him unprotected in the Rule V draft, and the Detroit Tigers snatched him up, believing he might become a useful DH somewhere down the line. His Major League debut didn’t go too well, unless you have an affinity for players who hit .196 and only go deep once in 27 games. The second year, 2005, was a little better: .299 with 18 homers in nearly 400 ABs, very respectable numbers.

In 2006, this 26-year old hit nine homers in his first 61 ABs. His name is Chris Shelton, the first baseman for the Detroit Tigers.

The Chris Shelton story had so places where it could have fallen apart. First, his defense was absolutely atrocious coming through the minor leagues. This was the biggest reason why the Bucs let him go in the first place. With no spot to put him, Shelton became expendable. The Detroit Tigers brought him in, but with Dmitri Young settled into the DH role, Shelton would have to learn how to play in the field.

On his miracle ride to the Majors, Shelton washed out at catcher. He moved to first base, but was pretty atrocious there, too. Rather than accepting a bench role that would limit his ABs in the Majors, the former Ute worked forever on improving himself in the field. Many scouts now consider him adequate defensively at first.

Secondly, the franchise had to give him a shot at stardom. Many were surprised when Carlos Pena was released, because he had such power potential in his bat and was excellent around the bag at first. However, 388 ABs in late 2005 gave the club all they needed to know about Shelton. With Pena in Triple A Columbus with the Yankees, his replacement is lighting up Major League pitching. What if he had never gotten the chance to have an everyday job? Shelton could still be rotting away on a bench anywhere from Erie -- the location of their Triple A ballclub -- to Detroit.

Finally, many scouts look at his physique (or lack thereof) and shake their heads. At six feet even and 215 pounds, he doesn’t look like a Major League ballplayer, or at least one setting the American League on fire. However, he broke through whatever barriers someone set up because of his size. Shelton put up numbers that made people notice and could not argue against. If he hadn’t started off so well in the Pirates’ farm system, it would have been likely he wouldn’t have gotten the chance to move up.