Christian Chamberlain Is off to a Great Start in the AFL
The Kansas City Royals' 2022 season may be over, but the organization isn't stopping in regard to its efforts to improve the team in both the short and long term. One of those elements involves the Arizona Fall League, and there's one player in particular setting himself apart.
In all, Kansas City sent seven players (LHP Christian Chamberlain, LHP Walter Pennington, LHP T.J. Sikkema, RHP Jonah Dipoto, OF Tyler Gentry, OF John Rave and INF Samad Taylor) down to Arizona to get additional work in. Chamberlain, a member of the Surprise Saguaros, is off to a blazing start thus far. In three appearances in the AFL, the former Oregon State standout has worked 4.1 innings with just one hit allowed and seven strikeouts to three walks. Among non-starters, that total ranks fourth entering Thursday's play.
Chamberlain, a 2020 fourth-round pick by the Royals, has struggled a bit thus far in his minor league career. In 2021, his first season facing MiLB hitters, he appeared in just two games and pitched only 3.2 innings due to injuries derailing his season. He came back this year to hurl 21 innings with High-A Quad Cities and 28 innings with Double-A Northwest Arkansas and while he struck out a whopping 72 hitters in those 49 innings of work, he also issued a combined 47 walks and posted an overall ERA of 6.24 in the process.
Throwing a decent strike isn't an issue for Chamberlain, but throwing multiple ones in succession has proved to be a challenge since entering the Royals' minor league system. Right now, he struggles to limit walks and his control is very spotty. That leads to an intriguing profile, yet one that still requires a lot of work before it becomes big-league-ready. Sam Dykstra of MLB Pipeline recently highlighted Kansas City's AFL contributors, and he echoed those same sentiments regarding Chamberlain.
The 23-year-old left-hander pitches aggressively out of his 5-foot-10 frame and utilizes a low-90s fastball with good riding life and a biting, upper-70s curveball to generate whiffs. He posted a 29.6 percent K rate as a High-A and Double-A reliever. That was unfortunately coupled with a 19.3 percent walk rate, leading to a 6.24 ERA over 49 innings. On stuff alone, Chamberlain could work in a big league bullpen but will need to throw more strikes to give himself a shot.
Back in February, Anne Rogers of MLB.com listed Chamberlain as a Royals pitching prospect to watch this year. She pointed to the velocity increase on his fastball and his terrific breaking ball as pitches that could lead to him being a high-leverage relief option one day. While his 2022 campaign showed the same red flags creeping up, Chamberlain's ceiling is still absolutely there. He's flashing it in the AFL and at 23 years old, the Royals' hope is that he can keep this up and elevate his prospect profile to where they believe it can be in 2023.
