Pro baseball’s a small world, and Cedar Rapids Kernels pitcher Chase Chaney knows it

CEDAR RAPIDS - You get former college teammates playing against each other in the minor leagues. Every now and then you get former college teammates playing on the same team.

It’s amazing how many guys from Venezuela and the Dominican Republic seem to know each other. They’re smaller countries, and the baseball fraternity in them is pretty tight.

Then you’ve got Chase Chaney, and his version of how professional baseball can be an incredibly small world.

The pitcher began this season in Double-A and was sent to high-Class A by the parent Minnesota Twins in late April. Minnesota’s high-A affiliate, of course, is the Cedar Rapids Kernels.

The connection? Chaney’s best buddy in baseball is Connor Van Scoyoc, the Cedar Rapids Jefferson grad pitching in Triple-A for Albuquerque.

“We both got drafted at the same time,” Chaney said Thursday afternoon, after he threw a complete-game, seven-inning shutout over Peoria, 3-0, in the first game of a double-header at Veterans Memorial Stadium. “We played together with the Angels for four or five years until he got traded to the Rockies. Roommates, teammates for the whole time. We went through it all.

“He’s a really great dude. I mean, just a homegrown Iowa guy. The epitome of Cedar Rapids, I would say. Great dude.”

Chaney was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the 16th round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of a high school in suburban Atlanta. Van Scoyoc was taken in the 11th round.

They played together in the Arizona Rookie League in 2019, in the AZL and low-Class A in 2021 and low-A in 2022. That’s when, as Chaney said, Van Scoyoc was dealt to the Colorado Rockies.

Chaney remained in the Angels system until electing for minor league free agency after last season. The 25-year-old right-hander signed with the Twins in the offseason.

Despite being in different organizations, the two have remained good friends and talk to each other every week, Chaney said.

“Where I live, the apartment complex is about a two-minute walk from where his dad works,” Chaney said with a laugh, referring to Aaron Van Scoyoc. “So sometimes I’ll be walking around, see his dad drive by, and I’ll be like ‘What’s going on, Whitey?’ It’s awesome.”

Chaney was awesome Thursday in throwing C.R.’s first complete game this season. He allowed three measly singles, walked two and struck out four, throwing strikes with all of his pitches and throwing with good tempo.

He has gone at least five innings in all eight of his starts with the Kernels, has a 4-1 record and 3.19 ERA.

“I know myself pretty well,” Chaney said. “That’s kind of my whole goal, just go out there and throw as long as I can. With the opportunities they’re giving me here, I’m trying to do the best I can. Loving every minute of it.

“It’s never easy to get sent down in baseball, but I’m still getting opportunities. This is a great group of guys. It’s a really good clubhouse, and we’re having a lot of fun. You get to play baseball for a living, and that’s not bad.”

The Kernels (35-25) dropped Thursday’s nightcap, 4-3. They are a half-game up on Quad Cities for first place in the Midwest League Western Division, with QC playing Thursday night at home against Beloit.

After Thursday’s league play, each team has six first-half games remaining. For Cedar Rapids, that includes Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon again against Peoria.

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