BRAD CLAPP

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

Level

W-L-Sv

BB/9

K/9

WHIP

OAVG

ERA

2005 NJCAA

3-2-0

42.0

4.07

10.71

1.67

2.14

2005 R

1-2-0

33.2

6.68

9.36

1.49

.208

4.28

2006 A-

1-3-0

27.0

4.00

6.67

1.56

.290

5.33

2007 A

6-10-0

105.1

131

3.33

5.72

1.61

.303

6.41

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 reaches the mid-90s and a sharp breaking curve that he has 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. Whatever the cause, the staff has shown little ability to develop pitchers in recent years. Assigned to Hickory again at the start of 2008, he opened on the disabled list but was expected to be ready early in the season. He'll be 22, which isn't all that old for class A, so there's still time, especially with a new regime taking over.

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