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Kody Clemens’s sport is constructed round pop. Taking part in nearly solely with Triple-A Toledo, the 25-year-old second baseman went deep 18 instances final yr in simply 424 plate appearances. He is aware of what he brings to the desk. Requested for a self-scouting report, Clemens started by saying he’s “grown to be taught {that a} good a part of my sport is energy.”
Born to a baseball household — his father is the seven-time Cy Young Award winner who shares his surname — Clemens grew up swinging from the left aspect. That was a matter of happenstance, not of design.
“It simply got here out that manner,” defined Clemens, who’s No. 21 on our Detroit Tigers Top Prospects list. “Once I was younger, my dad put just a little bat in my hand and stated, ‘Hey, hit the ball.’ I assume I stood up from the left aspect of the plate. It felt comfy, so I stored swinging that manner.”
The tutelage that adopted was predictably primarily based on the angle of a pitcher. “The Rocket” primarily taught his three sons — Kacy and Koby have additionally performed professionally — about assault plans and strategy at bats. Mechanics had been by no means a lot of a spotlight.
Kody is at the moment centered on discovering the suitable stability between his bread-and-butter — pull-side energy — and being a extra well-rounded hitter. Drafted within the third spherical out of the College of Texas in 2018, the 6-foot, 195-lb. infielder slashed .351/.444/.726 in his closing collegiate season, however he hasn’t come near these lofty numbers since coming into professional ball. His slash line at Toledo was a comparatively pedestrian .247/.312/.466.
“My batting common has in all probability been beneath the place it must be,” admitted Clemens, who matched his profession mark final yr. “Sooner or later within the season I used to be within the higher .280s, however I sort of hit just a little downward flip towards the top. One factor I’ve been engaged on is staying to the left aspect of the sphere, due to all of the shifting that’s occurring. I did very well with that within the first half, however then sort of received just a little pull-happy afterward within the season. However energy is a giant a part of my sport. That’s sort of the place baseball has been for the previous few years. Energy stats are undoubtedly invaluable.”
That’s excellent news for Clemens and the Tigers. Center infielders who present pop whereas additionally enjoying strong protection are an asset for any staff. His ceiling might not be significantly excessive, however the potential for Clemens to be a invaluable position participant is clearly there.
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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS
Mike Trout is 7 for 9 in opposition to Daniel Mengden.
Keon Broxton is 7 for 9 in opposition to Adam Wainwright.
Hunter Pence went 7 for 9 in opposition to Mark Buehrle.
Dustin Pedroia went 7 for 8 in opposition to Sidney Ponson.
Fred McGriff went 7 for 7 in opposition to Ryan Glynn.
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Left on the cutting-room flooring from my current conversation with 21-year-old Colton Cowser had been his ideas on fellow Baltimore Orioles outfield prospect Coby Mayo. I requested Cowser which of his teammates at Low-A Delmarva stood out probably the most.
“There have been a variety of good guys,” stated the Orioles 2021 first-round decide. “However Coby Mayo is sort of a monster. I don’t suppose he even is aware of how good he could be. He can hit the ball actually exhausting, and he’s received a rocket for an arm. He’s additionally a superb athlete for his dimension.”
Who confirmed the perfect pop in batting follow?
“The one who was most according to residence runs in BP was in all probability Connor Norby,” Cowser stated of the 2021 second-rounder. “However probably the most uncooked energy was undoubtedly Coby.”
Mayo, a 20-year-old fourth-round decide in 2020, is No. 6 on our Orioles Top Prospects list. The 21-year-old Norby is No. 13. Cowser is No. 4.
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Signal-stealing stretches again to the early days of baseball, and with very uncommon exceptions, the gamers concerned have both taken benefit of it or just stored their mouths shut. Al Worthington is a kind of uncommon exceptions. I realized as a lot whereas studying Thom Henninger’s The Pride of Minnesota: The Twins in the Turbulent 1960s, which was revealed by Nebraska Press final spring.
Per Henninger’s e book, Worthington — a Twins reliever from 1964-1969 — realized late within the 1959 season that his then-team, the San Francisco Giants, was stealing indicators from the grandstand by use of binoculars and relaying them to the dugout. A religious Christian, Worthington complained to the supervisor and was subsequently traded to the Purple Sox previous to the next season.
Worthington remained a person of conviction. Boston offered his contract to the Chicago White Sox with a month left within the 1960 season, and shortly thereafter Worthington found that his new staff was utilizing a flashing mild within the scoreboard to relay stolen indicators to their batters. His complaints as soon as once more ignored, he left the staff and went residence (per Worthington’s SABR BioProject entry).
Worthington went on to complete his profession with 75 wins, 111 saves, and a 3.39 ERA over 602 big-league appearances. He had a 2.62 ERA and 88 saves in his six seasons with the Twins.
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A quiz:
Pete Alonso hit a rookie-record 53 residence runs in 2019, two years after Aaron Judge hit 52 in his first season. Which participant had beforehand held the document for many residence runs in his rookie season?
The reply could be discovered beneath.
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NEWS NOTES
The Detroit Tigers introduced this week that Lou Whitaker’s No. 1 will probably be formally retired on August 6 previous to a sport at Comerica Park. The should-be Corridor of Famer would be the eleventh Tiger to obtain the distinction. Alan Trammell’s No. 3 was retired in 2018.
Frank Herrmann has joined the Toronto Blue Jays group and will probably be working throughout a number of departments, together with scouting, participant growth, and baseball operations. A former MLB reliever who spent the final 5 seasons pitching in NPB, Herrmann was a visitor on episode 948 of FanGraphs Audio in November.
Jim Riggleman has been employed to handle the impartial Pioneer League’s Billings Mustangs. The 69-year-old will reportedly be first former MLB supervisor to carry that place within the Pioneer League, which was affiliated from 1939-2020.
Per Federal Baseball’s David Driver, former Washington Nationals pitching coach Paul Menhart will probably be becoming a member of Taiwan’s Wei Chuan Dragons as a pitching teacher.
John Sanders, whose big-league profession comprised one sport for the Kansas Metropolis Athletics in 1965, died earlier this month at age 76. A local of Grand Island, Nebraska who went on coach on the College of Nebraska, Sanders was 19 years previous when he pinch-ran for Wayne Causey in an 11-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers.
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The reply to the quiz is Mark McGwire, who homered 49 instances for the Oakland A’s in his 1987 rookie season.
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This previous Friday’s episode of FanGraphs Audio was a deal with for pitching nerds. The visitor was Brian Garman, a Driveline-trained pitching coach who serves in that position for the Dayton Dragons, the Excessive-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Among the many many subjects addressed was the connection between velocity and command. Extra particularly, does the standard of command lower with added velocity?
“I don’t essentially agree with decrease velocity being simpler to command,” Garman stated on the podcast. “I feel a variety of what the trade has achieved is, we take these guys, we practice them to go be maniacs; we wish them to get sturdy, transfer quick and be explosive. Then we put them on the mound, and if a man doesn’t dot up each pitch, hastily individuals begin to panic, and say. ’Hey, perhaps we should always take our foot off the fuel just a little bit. Take 2-3 mph off and simply really feel it. Command it that manner’. Usually, what I’ve seen is that that backfires. It by no means goes as deliberate.
“I often err on the aspect of rushing the man up,” Garman continued. “Make him go sooner. Get a radar gun out and ask him to throw tougher. I feel when you begin to again a man off, A: It turns into too psychological, B: They’re looking — they’re making an attempt to really feel for one thing — reasonably than being instinctual, being the athletes they’re. So, I feel while you attempt to again a man off, command truly will get worse. You’re higher off simply letting the physique work on the fee that it desires to work. If we will simply get the athlete to belief it, and sort of flip the mind off… now we have now the groundwork. We now have someplace to start out, a leaping off level.”
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Who was higher, Andy Pettitte or CC Sabathia? I requested that query in a current Twitter ballot, and the outcomes had been equal components predictable and stunning. The participant I anticipated to garner extra assist did simply that, however the margin was far wider than I’d have imagined. Sabathia obtained 89% of the votes solid, whereas Pettitte received a paltry 11%.
Sabathia went 251-161 with a 116 ERA+, 3.78 FIP, and 66.5 WAR.
Pettitte went 256-153 with a 117 ERA+, a 3.74 FIP, and 68.2 WAR.
These total numbers signify a coin-flip distinction, so Sabathia’s higher sustained peak presumably held nice sway with voters. Sabathia had six seasons with 5.0 or extra WAR, and so they got here consecutively. Pettitte had 4 seasons with 5.0 or extra WAR, and so they came to visit a nine-year stretch. Sabathia’s excessive was 7.4, Pettitte’s was 7.2.
It appears unlikely that their October resumes had been a lot of an element. Sabathia threw 130-and-a-third postseason innings and went 10-7 with a 4.28 ERA. He pitched in simply two World Sequence video games, dropping his solely resolution. Pettitte threw 276-and-two-thirds postseason innings and went 19-11 with a 3.81 ERA. He pitched in 13 World Sequence video games, profitable 5 of 9 begins.
Was Sabathia, who had extra All-Star berths and gained a Cy Younger Award, the higher of the 2 pitchers? He in all probability was. Even so, his margin of victory within the ballot is just a little stunning.
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Sticking with polls, one from final Sunday deserves point out. I requested what number of groups ought to qualify for the MLB postseason, with the choices being eight, 10, 12, or 14. The outcomes had been telling:
Of the 500-plus individuals who voted, 35.3% selected 10 groups, 34.9% opted for eight, 23% went with 12, and 6.7% opined there ought to be 14.
The present format contains 10 groups, 4 fewer than MLB is reportedly negotiating for. Extra postseason groups means extra postseason video games, which implies extra income for house owners. Cash is the first purpose behind an expanded playoff construction.
As evidenced by the ballot, followers need one thing very completely different. As nicely they need to. Compromising the integrity of the sport in order that billionaire house owners can fatten their pocketbooks is a foul concept for baseball. The common season ought to matter.
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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE
Philadelphia Phillies prospect Daniel Brito is constant to get well — with hopes of enjoying once more, no much less — after struggling a mind hemorrhage, then going right into a month-long coma. Matt Gelb has the story at The Athletic (subscription required).
Travis Snider is retiring after 16 skilled seasons. Shi Davidi talked to him for SportsNet Canada.
DNVR’s Patrick Lyons wrote about Charlie Blackmon’s legacy with the Colorado Rockies.
The Excessive-A Lansing Lugnuts are honoring the Web page Fence Giants, a prolific Black baseball staff that referred to as Adrian, Michigan residence from 1885-1889. Stephanie Sheehan shared some of their history at MLB.com.
The Baseball Hall of Fame’s Invoice Francis shared the tale of Shufflin’ Phil Douglas, an enigmatic New York Giants pitcher who in 1922 was banished from baseball after allegedly writing a letter.
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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS
Greg Maddux had 1,194 assists and was charged with 53 errors. Nolan Ryan had 547 assists and was charged with 90 errors.
Walter Johnson’s 547 hits are probably the most for a pitcher in MLB historical past. (A handful of his hits got here as a pinch-hitter.)
Gene Stechschulte hit his solely profession residence run in his first big-league plate look. A right-handed pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Stechschulte did in order a pinch-hitter in an April 2001 sport. He didn’t take the mound that day.
Luke Voit had 234 plate appearances and 22 residence runs in 2020. Rabbit Maranville had 747 plate appearances and no residence runs in 1922.
Hughie Jennings had 121 RBIs and no residence runs for the Baltimore Orioles in 1896. Jennings had 51 HBPs that yr, probably the most for a participant in a single season.
The San Francisco Giants acquired Ron Hunt from the Los Angeles Dodgers as a part of a four-player commerce on at the moment’s date in 1968. A second baseman, Hunt led NL batters in HBPs in every of the subsequent seven seasons. His 50 HBPs in 1971 is a modern-day document.
Gamers born on at the moment’s date embody Oad Swigart, a local of Archie, Missouri who pitched components of two seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates In 1939, he posted a 4.44 ERA whereas permitting 27 hits and 14 runs. In 1940, he posted a 4.43 ERA whereas permitting 27 hits and 14 runs.
Additionally born on at the moment’s date was Crazy Schmit, a pitcher, and occasional outfielder, who performed for 5 groups from 1890-1901. Born Frederick M. Schmit, in Chicago, the southpaw went 2-17 with the 1899 Cleveland Spiders — a staff that infamously completed 20-134 — on his approach to a profession document of 7-36.
A second Loopy Schmit word: Schmit and Bill Phillips every began 10 video games for the 1890 Pittsburgh Alleghenys. Each went 1-9 with 9 full video games. Schmit allowed 98 runs. Phillips allowed 97 runs.
Earlier this week I seen that Nineteen Seventies pitcher Marty Pattin had seasons the place he went 10-10, 14-14, and 15-15. That received me questioning what probably the most seasons with double-digit wins and the identical variety of losses is, and it seems that Pattin shares the document. Per Statcast (by way of SABR’s Jacob Pomrenke), the opposite pitchers with three such seasons are Mark Buehrle, Bullet Joe Bush, Doug Davis, Dave Goltz, Orel Hershiser, and Al Leiter.
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