Sept. 27, 2010
MALIBU, Calif.- Former Pepperdine infielder and current Pittsburgh Pirate farmhand Chase d'Arnaud (Torrance, Calif./Los Alamitos HS) became the eighth Wave to don a USA Baseball jersey this week when he was added to its 2010 roster for the upcoming COPABE Pan American/World Cup Qualifying Tournament.
d'Arnaud arrived at the National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. over the weekend as a last-minute replacement for shortstop Andrew Romine, who was called up to the Los Angeles Angels Friday in time for their series against the Chicago White Sox.
d'Arnaud, who just finished celebrating an Eastern League (AA) Championship with the Altoona (Pa.) Curve earlier this month, is the first Wave to wear the Red, White and Blue since current Oakland Athletics' minor leaguer Brett Hunter did so in 2008. Head coach Steve Rodriguez and assistant coach Rick Hirtensteiner have also represented their country on the diamond, as have professionals Mike Fetters, Randy Wolf, David Matranga and Dan Melendez.
Since leaving Pepperdine in the summer of 2008, d'Arnaud has gradually climbed up through the ranks of the Pirates' farm system, first competing for both their single-A teams in 2009 before receiving a promotion to AA Altoona coming out of this year's spring training camp. In 132 games for the Curve, the two-time All-West Coast Conference honoree batted .247 with six home runs, a league-leading nine triples and 48 RBI along with 91 runs scored and 33 stolen bases.
d'Arnaud entered 2010 ranked as the fifth best prospect in the Pirates organization by Baseball America and was also tabbed by the publication as the organization's best overall athlete. In July of this year, he was tabbed to the Eastern League All-Star Team and voted Top Star of the game after blasting a pinch-hit grand slam in the seventh inning of a 10-3 win.
d'Arnaud won his first minor league team title (Carolina League) with the Lynchburg (A+) Hillcats in 2009 after starting the year at West Virginia. That year, his first full season in the minors, he hit .293 with seven round-trippers and 57 RBI.
The COPABE Pan American/World Cup Qualifying Tournament takes place throughout the island nation of Puerto Rico from Oct. 1-10. While there, the Americans will face Panama, Aruba, the Dominican Republic and Colombia in addition to the host country.
Before traveling overseas, however, the Americans have one last game vs. Canada at the National Training Complex Tuesday at 12 p.m. ET. Team USA beat the Canadians, 3-1, Sunday and then blanked Puerto Rico, 6-0, in the second game of its doubleheader.
For more information on this tournament, including news, stats, live scoring rosters and schedule, log onto USABaseball.com.
