It was a difficult year for the Washington Nationals farm system, much like it was for the MLB team. A lot of the top names in the Nationals system either struggled or got hurt. That made finding a standout prospect a bit tricky, but one name stood out. After all, there is a reason Baseball America gave the Nats farm a C- for the season.
However, left handed pitcher Alex Clemmey was the standout performer in the Nationals system. The combination of Clemmey’s youth, performance, stuff and resilience
made him my pick for Washington Nationals prospect of the year. Clemmey just beat out Jake Bennett for the honor in my eyes. While Bennett had a lower ERA, Clemmey threw more than 40 more innings and was one of the youngest pitchers at each of the two levels he pitched in. Baseball America agreed, also making Clemmey the Nats prospect of the year.
For the season, Clemmey put up impressive numbers. In 116.2 innings, he posted a 3.47 ERA with 136 strikeouts and a .208 batting average against. Clemmey was particularly dominant in High-A, where he made 19 of his 25 starts. In those 19 starts, he posted a 2.47 ERA with 113 strikeouts in 87.1 innings. He did most of that as a 19 year old pitcher.
Clemmey’s first three starts in Double-A were very challenging and inflated his ERA. He learned that he could not get away with as much at the new level. However, the youngster adjusted and it worked. In Clemmey’s last 3 starts of the season, he went 17.2 innings and only allowed four runs. The kid got taught a lesson in Double-A, but he figured out how to adapt.
Alex Clemmey’s success comes from his stuff and deception. At 6’6 and left handed, Clemmey creates weird angles for hitters. His stuff is hard to pick up. The fastball comes in anywhere from 93-96 MPH, but he can reach back for more if he really needs it. This year, Clemmey is throwing both a four-seamer and a sinker. His two fastballs make him less predictable.
Clemmey’s sweeping slider is also a plus pitch. It has big time movement and can be a big whiff generator for him. Another big development this season has been Clemmey’s changeup. It was not much of a weapon before, but he has gotten more comfortable using it. The changeup is a clear third pitch, but hitters need to pay attention to it now.
For Clemmey to take the next step, he needs to throw more strikes. The walks have been Clemmey’s achilles heel. It was the reason the Guardians were willing to move on from him to acquire Lane Thomas. For the season, Clemmey walked 5.63 batters per 9 innings. That is simply too high for a starting pitcher.
If Clemmey’s control stagnates, a move to the bullpen would become necessary. As we have seen with Clayton Beeter, you can have success in the ‘pen with poor control. If the stuff is electric, you can get the job done with scattershot control in short bursts. However, there is still hope for Clemmey as a starter.
His strike throwing actually improved when he got to Double-A. The walk rate went from 6.18 BB/9 to 3.99 BB/9. However, his strikeout rate also went way down after his promotion. Clemmey also had a big home run problem in AA, allowing 8 in 29.1 innings. However, 4 of those came in his first start at the level.
Before his promotion, home runs had never been an issue. Clemmey had only allowed 8 homers his entire Minor League career before he got to Harrisburg. That makes me think that this was just a blip on the radar and that Clemmey will go back to limiting the long ball next season.
It is important to remember just how young Clemmey is. Despite being in the same high school class as Travis Sykora, Clemmey is over a year younger than him. He turned 20 on July 18th. This is very important to consider when talking about him.
There is still a lot of runway for improvement here. He was one of, if not the youngest pitcher at each level. 20 year old pitchers are not supposed to be in AA. Clemmey has already made it there and will start next year at the level while still being 20.
At this pace, Clemmey could be in the big leagues as a 21 year old. That is awfully impressive for a former second round pick who was seen as a raw project at the time of the draft.
Mike Rizzo made a lot of mistakes over the past few years, but picking up Clemmey and more for Lane Thomas was a great move. Given Thomas’ playoff heroics last year, I doubt Guardians fans are overly upset about the move right now, but it could become a huge win for the Nats.
If everything comes together for Clemmey, he could be a mid rotation arm or a lights out high leverage relief pitcher. Control is the big difference maker here. However, Clemmey needs to find a way to add the control without losing too much of the deception that makes him special.
Effectively wild is a good way to define Alex Clemmey. If everything goes right here, you could be looking at a Gio Gonzalez style starter, who can frustrate but gets the job done more often than not. It was not the best year for the Nats farm, but seeing Alex Clemmey take big steps in his development is something that should encourage all Nats fans.
