Prospecting Arrival: Sam Clay, p, Minnesota Twins

Sam Clay was drafted by the Twins in the 4th round of the 2014 draft out of Georgia Tech.
Clay was a very good reliever while at Georgia Tech, though it was not clear if he would stick to the pen as a pro or transition into a starter. He had the tools to excel at either.
2016 was a weird year for Clay. It looks like he spent the season as a starter, and went 6-7 with a 4.60 ERA and 1.587 WHIP. Maybe not amazing numbers, but if you look deeper there was plenty to like. In 115.1 innings between Low- and High-A he only allowed 116 hits while striking out 115. He did walk 67…but with all those K’s those can be overlooked. His stuff was evident.
For the 2017 season the Twins dropped him back in the pen. It looks like a great decision. He spent that vast majority of the season in High-A and went 8-0 with 9 saves and a 1.38 ERA/1.138 WHIP. Over 65 innings he only allowed 42 hits while striking out 63 and walking 32. Those are fantastic numbers.
I would imagine that he will open the 2018 season in AA, and if he continues to pitch like he did in 2017 he should move quickly. Left-handed power relievers are always in demand, so I think he is going to have a long career.

Register Pitching
Year	Age	AgeDif	Tm	Lg	Lev	W	L	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SV	IP	H	BB	SO	WHIP
2014	21	0.5	Elizabethton	APPY	Rk	2	1	5.59	19	0	4	0	0	29.0	35	17	44	1.793
2015	22	0.8	2 Teams	2 Lgs	Rk-A	1	6	3.61	22	10	2	0	0	72.1	72	38	73	1.521
2016	23	0.8	2 Teams	2 Lgs	A-A+	6	7	4.60	24	24	0	1	0	115.1	116	67	115	1.587
2017	24	0.9	2 Teams	2 Lgs	A+-AA	9	0	1.87	43	0	24	0	9	67.1	44	45	67	1.322
All	All	All	All			18	14	3.80	108	34	30	1	9	284.0	267	167	299	1.528

Collecting Cleveland Baseball Since 1982