IF - 2010 Goldpanners of Fairbanks
Bats: R - Throws: R
Height: 5'11" - Weight: 185lb
School: Sacramento State
Year: Junior
Hometown: Cypress, California
All posts regarding Derrick Chung
Derrick Chung's face is one that should be familiar to PannerFans. In 2009, Chung paced the Goldpanners in batting average (.355) and has returned in 2010 to establish himself as a franchise player for the Fairbanks club...or as close to a franchise player as one can be in summer ball, anyway.
Chung hails from Cypress, California and is a business management major at Sacramento State. After starting 51 games for the Hornets at shortstop, Chung missed all but sixteen games (all starts) for the team this year. Before coming up with the Goldpanners last year, he played his freshman season with the Humbolt Crabs of the up-and-coming West Coast League, so he's never had a summer off from baseball.
When I first saw Chung in person, he looked like a little guy to me, but he's not as small as he looks. At 5'11" 185lb, I'd say he's pretty average as far as baseball players go, but the Goldpanners have a pretty big team this year, making an average guy look smaller than he is. The other thing is that he has a pretty athletic build. 185 is a pretty solid mass for a guy under 6', especially in a league like this where there are a lot of players who have "projectable" frames.When you're looking at a league of beanpoles, the guy with the solid athletic build in good baseball proportions stands out.
That explains why he has some pop in his bat, and why it surprised me at first. He still hasn't hit a homer but the stats don't tell you that he has just nearly missed hitting it out of the park several times. As I've already said once, I've seen him crush one ball just barely on the wrong side of the foul pole, and send another to the warning track at straight-away center, so he can hit the ball hard all over the park. For what it's worth he hit a pair out last year, so it's not just warning track power. Aaron Morse, a baseball broadcaster formerly with the Goldpanners and Fire (now with the AA Huntsville Stars), also tells me that "Chung takes baseball very seriously. And he can rake". Big words from a man who has seen a lot of talented players at the high-minors level.
This year, as a junior, Chung went undrafted despite being eligible for the MLB amateur draft. That brought him back up to AK for another year with the Panners, and we're really blessed to have him. He'll be eligible for another go at the draft next year; I don't project him as an uber prospect or anything but I think he would be a good mid or late round pickup for a team that needs an athletic and hard-working middle infielder who can hit for average and has decent power for the position.
Chung and the Goldpanners are headed down the stretch, vying for ABL crown. You can get more info on Derrick by clicking here, and stay plugged in to 49thStateHardball.com as we keep rolling out profiles, news, photos and scouting info on the boys of the Alaskan summer for the rest of the year and into the offseason.
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