Thursday, August 27, 2009
Koby Clemens’ breakout season
Posted by Alex PediciniThe son of seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens, Koby Clemens is looking to make a name for himself this season.
The 22-year old Clemens is tearing up the California League to a tune of .349/.424/.638 with 20 home runs. The California League is a notorious hitters paradise, but even when neutralizing the park factors (available on minor league splits) he his still batting an impressive .316/.406/.558.
Koby was an 8th round pick by Houston in 2005 while he father was still pitching for the Astros. Despite playing much of his first three seasons at third base he switched to catcher last season and has remained there in 2009.
His success this season has been inflated in large part due to his .435 BABIP (nearly 100 points above his career mark). While his numbers are probably not indicative of his true talent level, his raw power is evident. He is leading the league in OPS (1.062) this year, in 2008 he slugged .423, and in 2007 he hit 15 home runs.
Clemens career walk rate of 11.3 percent demonstrates his ability to consistently draw walks and reach base. His strikeouts are a bit high (25 percent) but his power should help make up for this.
His future will likely be determined by whether or not he can remain behind the plate. If he can stick there, his bat should be a plus. His path may be blocked by the organization's top prospect catcher Jason Castro. Castro is more advanced offensively at this stage, but Clemens has more power potential.
Alex is a student in Boston. He welcomes all questions and comments here
I’m gonna be completely honest and say that I had no idea he was even still in pro baseball. It’s good that he’s doing something besides sitting under his dad’s shadow.