BRAD CLAPP

5/19/86; '04 19th; Bellevue (WA) CC
R/R; 6-4, 215

Level
W-L-Sv
G
GS
IP
H
 HR
BB
K
 BB/9 K/9 WHIP OAVG
ERA
2005 NJCAA
3-2-0
8
8
42.0
30
  
19
50
 4.1 10.7 1.67  
2.14
2005 R
1-2-0
9
9
33.2
25
0
25
35
6.7
9.4
1.49
.208
4.28
2006 A-
1-3-0
6
6
27.0
31
2
12
20
4.0
6.7
1.56
.290
5.33
2007 A
6-10-0
24
20
105.1
131
14
39
67
3.3
5.7
1.61
.303
6.41
2008 A
3-7-0
16
16
76.0
87
3
20
41
2.4
4.9
1.41
.288
3.32
2009 R
1-1-0
7
5
20.1
17
1
7
10
3.1
4.4
1.18
.230
2.66

Clapp was a highly regarded pitcher in HS, but he fell to the 19th round due to either concerns about his delivery or his bonus demands, depending on which story you read. He passed up a scholarship at Washington State and worked on his mechanics in JC ball. He's regarded as having three big-league quality pitches, including a fastball that reached the mid-90s and a sharp breaking curve that he had trouble controlling at times. One of the top DFE candidates from the 2004 draft, Clapp signed with the Pirates just before the 2005 deadline.

Clapp's performance in the GCL was consistent with the scouting reports on him, as the low hit and high K totals show he had very good stuff, but he struggled with his control. In 2006 he struggled at Williamsport, with weak numbers across the board. His season was cut short after six starts by injury, the nature of which I don't know. He was healthy at the start of 2007 and opened at Hickory, but struggled much of the year. His season fell into three segments: he had an ERA of 7.88 in April and May, 3.40 in June and July, and 9.00 in August and September. He missed a few starts with injuries in June and July. LH batters hit .352 against him. Oddly, his BB and K numbers were much worse in June and July than in the other months. His overall K rate was poor, which is not a good sign, especially for a guy who's supposed to have very good stuff. I don't know what his velocity was, but the Pirates had a consistent record under Dave Littlefield of young pitchers losing velocity after they joined the organization. The team focused in the draft mainly on groundball finesse pitchers, so it could be that they tried to turn the pitchers with good stuff into finesse pitchers as well. This would be consistent with Clapp's low K rate and improved control, as well as the fact that he got hit hard.

Assigned to Hickory again at the start of 2008, Clapp opened on the disabled list but joined the rotation at the end of April. He struggled for about five weeks, but made great progress in June and July, posting a 2.66 ERA. Unfortunately, he then got hurt and missed the rest of the season. Overall, he made progress, walking very few hitters and keeping the ball in the ballpark, which had been a problem in 2007. On the down side, the K rate obviously got even lower and he gave up a lot of hits. He had a strong reverse platoon split, which was probably a random occurrence. It'd be nice to see what he could do in an injury-free season, as he's still only 22, but the injury that ended his 2008 season resulted in reconstructive elbow surgery. He came back in late July and pitched regularly in the GCL through the end of the season. Hopefully he'll recover well enough to reach Bradenton in 2010.

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