NewsChacin impressive in debut
Composed rookie fans two Saturday night
By Thomas Harding / MLB.com
07/26/09 4:02 PM ET
DENVER -- Jhoulys Chacin had to fend off some understandable nervousness on Saturday night. But once that was out of the way, he learned something about being in the Major Leagues. There's freedom.Chacin, 21, a right-handed pitching prospect for the Rockies, tossed a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts in his debut, an 8-2 Rockies victory over the Giants.
The Rockies called up Chacin -- whose name is pronounced YOH-lees Cha-SEEN -- from Double-A Tulsa believing his talented arm could help their bullpen. But before the callup, the organization wanted him to work on his fastball, curve and changeup and didn't want him throwing too many sliders -- a pitch he's still developing.
But catcher Chris Iannetta called it on several occasions. Chacin's final pitch was one to strike out the Giants' Juan Uribe -- after Uribe had hit a slider high and far, but outside the foul pole in left.
"Iannetta, whatever he called, that's what I'd throw," Chacin said. "I was practicing it in Spring Training, but the Rockies wouldn't let me throw it. But when I got here, I asked them if I could throw it. I was practicing a lot. They told me, 'Yeah, you can throw it.'"
Chacin said the ninth inning, in which he fanned Nate Schierholtz and Uribe but walked Edgar Renteria and threw a wild pitch, "felt like one hour of pitching."
But for the most part, Chacin was electric and efficient.
Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki trotted to the mound to grab the rosin bag and remind him to challenge the strike zone after the walk. Tulowitzki said he was impressed with Chacin, but he checked just to make sure after the wild pitch put Renteria on second.
"You want to get a feel with some veteran guys like Renteria, and he was impressed by him," Tulowitzki said. "That made me feel a lot better, too."
Rockies manager Jim Tracy will ease Chacin in as a long reliever. Tracy hesitated to use him Saturday night until the Rockies lengthened their lead. But Tracy also believes Chacin has the composure to pitch in tighter situations.
"I made a mental note of that as I observed this kid the entire time he was with us in Spring Training," Tracy said. "The one thing that I remember stating an awful lot in meetings is when you start talking about poise and mound presence and things like that.
"Not the pitching part of it but just the way the kid handled himself, he handled himself like a pitcher that was well beyond his years. That's something that is going to allow him to grow at this level quicker."
Chacin also has a chance to gain a comfort level in the clubhouse.
He joined the club Friday, the same day righty reliever Rafael Betancourt arrived after being acquired from the Indians. They joined the team's other Venezuelans -- catcher Yorvit Torrealba, outfielder Carlos Gonzalez and relief pitchers Juan Rincon and Franklin Morlaes. In their initial conversations, it dawned on Rincon, Gonzalez and Chacin that they grew up within 10 minutes of each other.
So Chacin had plenty of advice before taking the mound.
"My friends, the bullpen guys, they told me, 'When you get there, just take deep breaths and just do what you know to do -- throw strikes,'" Chacin said.
Thomas Harding is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
