The book on … Bruce Chen

Phillies LHP, 6-1/180, 3rd year

Bruce Chen has a dream that's grander than winning 20 games in the major leagues.

He wants his mother, Luisa, to see him walk across the graduation podium at Georgia Tech as university officials hand him a mechanical engineering diploma.

"It's a personal goal," Chen says of the possibility of receiving a degree. "But right now, I think the priority for me is to establish myself in the big leagues."

After the July 12 trade that sent him from Atlanta to Philadelphia with minor league lefthander Jimmy Osting for Andy Ashby, the Phillies committed to handing Chen the ball every fifth day.

"The only thing I knew was Braves baseball," says Chen, who is 3-2 with a 3.46 ERA in 12 starts since the trade. "Now, I feel like I'm really enjoying the game. My mentality before was, `I just want to pitch well so I can stay in the big leagues.' Now, I want to pitch well so I can win."

Secure with his place in Terry Francona's rotation, Chen, 23, compiled a 21 1/3-inning scoreless streak from August 27 to September 13.

Only Colorado reliever Gabe White (29 innings) has had a longer string in the N.L. this season.

Chen has a solid makeup and a fastball in the low 90s, but his curve could use some tightening, and he needs to get physically stronger.

Chen, who is of Chinese descent but was born in Panama, signed a free-agent contract with Atlanta as a 16-year-old, but only after the Braves promised his parents they would make sure he continued his education.

He subsequently attended high school in Boca Raton, Fla., near the Braves' minor league complex.

After splitting time between Class AAA Richmond and the Braves last year, he was unable to crack the Braves' rotation during spring training. Against the advice of several Atlanta front-office types, G.M. John Schuerholz dealt him to acquire World Series veteran Ashby.

Figuring he would be with the Braves in the postseason, Chen did not enroll in fall classes. Of his academic pursuits, he says, "If I had to read a book for a class or write a paper, I prefer physics." That's fitting, given the way the movement of his fastball and circle changeup baffle opponents.

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