Archive for Jeff Clement

Ever seen Celebrity Rehab ? Basically, a bunch of former stars try to clean up their lives and stay on the straight and narrow path. Recently, the Pittsburgh Pirates have employed a similar strategy with erstwhile top prospects. The Bucs scooped up four former top 100 farm talents (as rated by Baseball America) from other organizations, hoping the players could reclaim some semblance of their previous glory. Here’s a look at how those players are performing.

Ronny Cedeno, SS
#94 prospect prior to 2006
Acquired: July 2009 from Seattle Mariners

Originally a Cubs prospect signed out of Venezuela back in 1999, Cedeno showed some offensive promise at the Double-A and Triple-A levels. After a 2005 season in which Cedeno raked at Iowa (355/.403/.518) and made his be league debut, BA said that he had “proven that he could be more than a glove man.”

Suffice it to say, his bat hasn’t translated to the highest level — in 1,550 career plate appearances, Cedeno has a .273 wOBA and a 61 wRC+. BA also said that he lacked plate patience, and that part of the scouting report was dead on. Cedeno’s outside swing rate in the majors tops 35 percent.

Despite a .281 wOBA and a 71 wRC+, Cedeno hasn’t been a total liability in 2010. He has 0.7 Wins Above Replacement, on the strength of a +16.2 UZR/150 at shortstop. However, Ronny’s career UZR/150 at the position is -1.3. The 27-year-old will need to keep playing stellar defense to make up for his Adam Everett-esque lumber.

Jeff Clement, 1B
#33 prospect prior to 2006, #62 pre-2007, #42 pre-2008
Acquired: July 2009 from Seattle Mariners

The third overall pick in the 2005 draft, Clement was a highly-coveted talent as a lefty-swinging, power hitting catcher. Unfortunately, he tumbled down the defensive spectrum due to unflattering scouting reports and knee problems. Now, Clement’s strictly a first baseman. He last strapped on the catcher’s gear in 2009, and that was just for 16 games.

Though he managed a decent .279/.368/.492 line in over 1,500 PA at the Triple-A level, Clement has a .283 wOBA and a 72 wRC+ in 380 career trips to the plate in the majors. CHONE and ZiPS both gave the former USC star a .350 wOBA projection for the 2010 season, but he has a ghastly .237 wOBA so far. A .213 batting average on balls in play hasn’t helped, but Clement is hacking at 31.4 percent of off-the-plate pitches, walking 4.4 percent and whiffing 26.8 percent. Considering the position that he now plays, he has -0.7 WAR on the season.

Clement has found himself on the bench more often as of late, with Pittsburgh turning to either Garrett Jones or Bobby Crosby (speaking of former prospects..) at first base. Now 26, Clement is in serious danger of being written off as a viable starter in the majors. His rest-of-season ZiPS projects a .334 wOBA — that’s just not useful from a first baseman.

Andy LaRoche, 3B
#74 prospect prior to 2005, #19 pre-2006 and 2007, #31 pre-2008
Acquired: July 2008 from Los Angeles Dodgers

It’s not entirely fair to lump LaRoche in with the other guys on this list. First, he wasn’t really picked up as a reclamation project — LaRoche was perhaps the prime prospect acquired by the Pirates in the three-team Jason Bay/Manny Ramirez proceedings. Also, the former Dodgers prospect was a relatively productive starter last season, with 2.6 WAR.

However, it’s fair to say that LaRoche has fallen short of expectations in 2010. He was essentially a league-average hitter in ’09 (.324 wOBA, 97 wRC+), but the 26-year-old has a .291 wOBA and a 77 wRC+ this year. He displayed mild power last season, with a .143 ISO, but LaRoche has a .096 mark in 2010. Pop ups have been a problem (21.3 IF/FB%, nearly three times the MLB average). Couple that hitting with a poor UZR/150 rating (-13.9), and you have a sub-replacement-level showing: -0.3 WAR.

LaRoche should improve at the plate (.324 rest-of-season ZiPS wOBA), and he rated quite well defensively last season. Overall, his career UZR/150 at third is +0.6. There’s nothing wrong with a guy who projects as roughly an average starter, particularly when he has several years of team control remaining. But the Pirates were probably looking for a little more, and LaRoche’s long-term defensive home becomes unclear if Pedro Alvarez begins his big league career at third base.

Lastings Milledge, LF
#86 prospect prior to 2004, #11 pre-2005, #9 pre-2006
Acquired: June 2009 from Washington Nationals

Formerly the pride of the New York Mets’ player development program, Milledge has since passed through Washington and is now floundering in Pittsburgh. BA once thought that Lastings would help anchor the lineup in Queens along with Wright, Reyes and Beltran. Instead, Milledge has a career .315 wOBA and a 91 wRC+.

The 25-year-old has been even worse as of late: a .308 wOBA during a 2009 season in which he suffered a broken finger and a .292 wOBA in 2010. He’s doing a slightly better job of working the count this season (nine percent walk rate, though that includes two intentionals), but his power is MIA: a .078 ISO. Milledge is chopping the ball into the grass (51 GB%) and popping up (17.4 IF/FB%) often. He’s got -0.2 WAR on the season.

Milledge’s rest-of-season ZiPS calls for a .320 wOBA. He has been around an average corner outfielder (career +1.6 UZR/150) after a disastrous stint in center field for the Nationals, so he projects as a below-average starter at this point.

So, there you have it: four players once celebrated as franchise pillars combining for -0.5 WAR. Top-rated position players provide the most production in the aggregate, but these four haven’t lived up to the billing. With perhaps the exception of LaRoche, it’s not looking good for this quartet of underachievers.

With the recent promotion of Texas’ top hitting prospect Justin Smoak, the 2010 MLB prospect call-up watch is in full effect. There’s a lot of speculation that Indians catcher Carlos Santana may be the next big-named prospect to make his major league debut, but there should be some eyes on Pittsburgh, too.

Third baseman Pedro Alvarez, the second overall pick of the ’08 draft out of Vanderbilt University, put himself on the must-watch list after a solid ’09 performance that included a .333/.419/.590 line in half a season at double-A. Overall, he managed 27 homers and 95 RBI in 126 games.

Alvarez is not currently tearing up triple-A like Smoak was, but the Pirates prospect is still hitting a respectable .258/.343/.484 in 16 games. After slugging three homers in the first week of the ’10 season, Alvarez has managed just one (and three extra base hits) in the last 10 games.

A left-handed hitter, Alvarez is struggling against southpaws with a .458 OPS in a small sample size. However, it’s been a career trend so far as his splits last season were: .714 OPS vs LHPs, 1.028 vs RHPs). Clearly he has work to do, but the Pirates big league club needs help.

In truth, the pitching is really what’s been bad – okay, terrible – for the big league club. It’s a huge reason why the club has lost six straight and has a 7-11 record. The Pirates club is also last in the NL in batting average at .224, which is even worse than the lowly Astros. It also has the second-lowest team wOBA at .301 and ISO rate at .122.

The club currently employs Andy LaRoche at third base. He was hitting .258/.378/.355 in 37 at-bats going into Sunday’s game when he went 4-for-4, and he’s coming off of a .324 wOBA season in ’09. If you’re not ready to move LaRoche, maybe we need to look at first base, where former top prospect (of the Mariners) Jeff Clement is currently hitting a paltry .174/.220/.326 in 46 at-bats. His career wOBA in 88 games is .291.

Most scouts feel Alvarez is destined to move across to first base, where his value would take a small hit. Even so, now may be the time, given the club’s needs and bleak outlook at the position. The time to call up Alvarez is probably not quite upon us, but it’s getting close.

SCOUTING SIDEBAR: I had a chance to watch Alvarez on April 23 against Louisville. Criticized for carrying extra weight in the past, the prospect is still thick around the middle but he moves pretty well. He made a nice play on a slow grounder to third base, although the throw had to be scooped out of the dirt by first baseman Steve Pearce. Alvarez also showed a pretty good eye at the plate and walked in the first. He also shocked me with pretty good form on an attempted sacrifice bunt out in front of home plate that just bounced foul.

Jose Tabata looks like he’s trimmed down a bit, which explains the league-leading eight steals. He was aggressive during the first at-bat of the game, swinging at the first three pitches. It wasn’t a great approach for the lead-off hitter. He was much better in his second at-bat. He took a few pitches and then got into a hitter’s count, saw a poorly-placed fastball and singled on it. His base running needs work. Tabata was picked off second base by the catcher on a missed bunt attempt.

With some teams struggling with injuries to catchers (Rangers, Angels), someone really needs to look at Erik Kratz (yes, I’m pimping him again). He’s a big target behind the plate, but he moves well for his size and is a quiet receiver. He also showed good pull power with a two-run home run on an inside fastball. He does have an upper-cut swing and probably won’t hit for a great average.

Former No. 1 prospect Neil Walker was playing second base in an attempt to increase his versatility and value. He actually looked pretty good at the plate – with some opposite-field power on display on a deep fly ball to the track – but I didn’t get much of a look at him in the field.

Over the next few days, we’re looking at sophomore players in the Major Leagues. Today’s post is looking at the American League West division, which was home to quite a few interesting rookie names in 2008. Yesterday, we looked at the American League East and on Tuesday it was the AL Central.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Catcher Jeff Clement was in line to be the next big offensive-minded catcher in baseball. He was also an early possibility for the AL Rookie of the Year award in 2008, but a funny thing happened on the way to the Hall of Fame… Clement struggled with the bat, the organization made a stupid contract commitment to a veteran player at his position, and the club seemingly lost all confidence in him. Despite hitting well throughout his brief minor career and producing a .335/.455/.676 line in 48 triple-A games in 2008, the Mariners soured on Clement after he hit just .227/.295/.360 in his first taste of the Majors (66 games). In 2009, he’s started just 16 games at catcher at triple-A and 38 at designated hitter, because of a lingering knee problem and the organization’s obvious belief that his future is not behind the dish. Overall, Clement’s hitting .280/.352/.466 with seven homers. The left-handed hitter is batting just .219 versus southpaws (compared to .304 against right-handers).

The emphasis on outfield defense in Seattle has relegated Wladimir Balentien to the bench despite the fact he hit seven home runs in 71 games last season – oh, and he also hit just .202/.250/.342. Despite his obvious struggles with the bat and making contact (29.8 K% in the Majors), the organization has kept Balentien in the Majors for the entire 2009 season and he’s hitting just .218/.273/.336 with one home runs in 110 at-bats. The 24-year-old is out of options so the club is stuck between a rock and a hard place, but it’s not doing Balentien’s career any favors.

After a few abbreviated attempts at beginning his MLB career, Mark Lowe finally enjoyed a full season in the Majors in 2008 with modest results. He posted a 5.37 ERA (4.42 FIP) and allowed 78 hits in 63.2 innings of work. In 2009, he’s continued to show some improvements with a 3.90 ERA (3.92 FIP) and 32 hits allowed in 30 innings of work. His walk rate has improved from 4.81 to 3.90 BB/9 but his strikeout rate has also plummeted from 7.77 to 6.00 K/9.

Outfielder Ryan Sweeney appeared in 115 games for the A’s in 2008 but he had a pretty hollow season with a line of .286/.350/.383. He didn’t show much power with just five home runs and he didn’t use his speed by stealing nine bases. Things are not getting much better for the 24-year-old in 2009 with a line of .246/.313/.319. Sweeney also has just two homers and four stolen bases. He won’t be playing full-time much longer with numbers like that.

Daric Barton was another disappointing rookie in 2008 from an organization that has a reputation (deservedly so or not) for producing productive Major League players. The catcher-turned-first-baseman had a minor league line of .299/.411/.455 and had always hit for average, although there were questions about the 23 year old’s power potential. In his rookie season in the Majors in ’08, Barton hit for neither power nor average with a line of .226/.327/.348 in 446 at-bats. The struggles may have affected him mentally as he’s hitting just .245/.365/.385 with three homers in 200 at-bats in 2009.

Sean Gallagher, 23, was obtained last season from the Cubs in the Rich Harden trade. Between the two clubs, he posted a 5.15 ERA (4.48 FIP) with 118 hits allowed in 115.1 innings of work. He also posted rates of 4.53 BB/9 and 8.04 K/9. He’s bounced between the Majors and the minors in 2009 with an 8.16 ERA in six MLB games and a 1.75 ERA in five triple-A starts. His batting-average-allowed has jumped from .266 to .342 over the past year.

Relievers Brad Ziegler and Joey Devine were godsends for the Oakland bullpen in 2008 but 2009 has been a different story, especially for Devine. The former Braves prospect finally harnessed his pitches – a 2.96 BB/9 in 2008 compared to more than one walk allowed per inning in his previous three big-league attempts – and posted an ERA of just 0.59 (1.97 FIP). He also allowed just 23 hits in 45.2 innings of work. Unfortunately, Devine blew out his elbow and underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this season. Ziegler rose from obscurity to save 11 games in 2008 for Oakland, while also posting a 1.06 ERA in 59.2 innings. This season the groundball pitcher has been good but not great, in part due to a BABIP jump from .246 to .351. Left-handers are also hitting .367 against him.

Chris Davis burst upon the scene last season as young player with immense power. He hit .285/.331/.549 with 17 homers and 23 doubles in 295 at-bats while playing mostly third base. Davis, 23, also posted a strikeout rate of 29.8 K%. Fast-forward one season and the left-handed batter is now playing first base and hitting just .204/.261/.422 with 12 home runs in 206 at-bats. His strikeout rate has jumped to a disturbing 45.6 K%. Davis has also lost 6% off his line-drive rate, which is down to 19.6%, and his BABIP has gone from .353 to .300.

Brandon Boggs, 26, was called upon to fill a part-time role in 2008. The outfielder hit just .226/.333/.399 but he appeared in 101 games. His strikeout rate was a dismal 32.9 K%. He did, though, show some power potential with an ISO of .173. Boggs has spent the majority of 2009 in triple-A where his power has all but dried up as he has an ISO rate of just .086. He’s also hitting just .278/.405/.364 in 162 at-bats. Another part-time player, infielder German Duran hit .231/.275/.350 with three home runs in 143 at-bats in the Majors in 2008. This season, he’s battled injuries and is hitting just .149/.185/.207 in 87 triple-A at-bats.

David Murphy’s rookie season was not as noisy as Davis’, but Murphy has had a much more consistent career to this point. The 27-year-old outfielder posted a line of .275/.321/.465 with 15 homers in 415 at-bats in 2008. He also posted a walk rate of 7.0% and a strikeout rate of 16.9 K%. In 2009, Murphy’s power has dropped and he’s hitting .259/.344/.393 with three homers in 135 at-bats (including .167 vs southpaws). He’s seen his walk rate increase to 11.8 BB%, while his strikeout rate has also risen to 24.4 K%, which is not good considering his drop in power production (ISO from .190 to .133).

A former Braves prospect, 23-year-old Matt Harrison had a rough introduction to the big leagues in his rookie season in 2008. He posted a 5.49 ERA (5.18 FIP) and allowed 100 hits in 83.2 innings of work. Harrison’s walk rate was 3.33 BB/9 but he struck out just 4.52 K/9. In 2009, the southpaw has posted a 5.43 ERA (4.68 FIP) in 54.2 innings and he’s allowed 68 hits. His walk rate is down to 2.63 BB/9 and his strikeout rate is just 4.77 K/9. Opponents also has a healthy 23.3 LD% against Harrison.

Infielders Sean Rodriguez and Brandon Wood are both loaded with potential but they have had difficulties breaking into everyday roles in the Majors. Rodriguez, 24, has good pop for a middle infielder (.300+ ISO in parts of two triple-A seasons), but he projects as a big league utility player due to his contact issues (33.2 K% in 205 triple-A at-bats in 2009). Wood, on the other hand, has massive power potential for an infielder but he too has contact issues (26.8 K% in 2008). With 69 home runs during parts of three seasons in triple-A, Wood, 24, needs to opportunity to finally show once and for all if he has what it takes to play everyday in the Majors. He hit just .200/.224/.327 in 55 MLB games in 2008.

Jose Arredondo had a very successful year in 2008 giving hope that he would one day fill the closer’s role that Francisco Rodriguez departed from after last season. In 2008, Arredondo went 10-2 with a 1.62 ERA while allowing just 42 hits in 61 innings of work. He posted rates of 3.25 BB/9 and 8.11 K/9. The right-hander, though, did not make in through the month of June in 2009 before being demoted to the minors after posting a 5.55 ERA and allowing 28 hits in 24.1 innings of work.