Adrian Chaidez

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #422 prospect in 2019 draft
  Chaidez is a converted catcher who only recently began pitching and drew his first significant attention from evaluators last fall. He is an athletic 6-foot rigthander with a clean arm action and easy delivery. His fastball sits at 90 mph and he can reach back for 93-94 mph as needed. His short slider tightened up in the spring to give him a second average or better offering, and he shows feel for a changeup. All of those attributes made Chaidez one of the top junior college prospects in Southern California this year. He went 7-1, 3.48 with 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings and 4.8 walks per nine. He is still learning to pitch and hasn't quite figured out command or sequencing yet. He is strongly committed to UCLA and will be difficult to sign.

• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 40/High
  
  Track Record: Chaidez spent his first two collegiate seasons with Cypress College JC (Calif.) before transferring to UCLA before the 2020 season. He was a reliable option out of the UCLA bullpen in 2021, posting a 2.20 ERA and 48 strikeouts across 32.2 innings. The Astros drafted Chaidez in the 15th round of the 2021 draft and he made four appearances last summer in the Florida Complex League. He was assigned to High-A Asheville this spring.
  
  Scouting Report: Best utilized as a multi-inning reliever, Chaidez has loud stuff with power, movement and high raw spin numbers. His four-seam fastball sits 93-94 mph but touches 96-97 mph with heavy bore and late life. He pairs that primarily with a slider in the low-to-mid 80s that plays well off of the fastball, and a changeup that&#39s arguably his best pitch. He commands the changeup extremely well as it&#39s his best bat-missing pitch and boasts the highest strike rate of any of his pitches. Chaidez can lose effectiveness the longer he goes and will begin to lose his release point. He will flash moments of brilliance, but his command can escape him.
  
  The Future: Chaidez is a potential high-leverage reliever who&#39s already moving quickly through the Houston system. He&#39s best suited for multiple innings, but his loud stuff could play up if he airs it out in one-inning stints.
• December, 2018 Scouting Report
  Chaidez is a converted catcher who only recently began pitching and drew his first significant attention from evaluators last fall. He is an athletic 6-foot rigthander with a clean arm action and easy delivery. His fastball sits at 90 mph and he can reach back for 93-94 mph as needed. His short slider tightened up in the spring to give him a second average or better offering, and he shows feel for a changeup. All of those attributes made Chaidez one of the top junior college prospects in Southern California this year. He went 7-1, 3.48 with 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings and 4.8 walks per nine. He is still learning to pitch and hasn't quite figured out command or sequencing yet. He is strongly committed to UCLA and will be difficult to sign.