By William Qualkinbush.
By William Qualkinbush.
One of the most common question I’m asked every year pertains to former Clemson athletes in the nether-regions of specific leagues.
It could be a football player trapped on a practice squad. It could be a basketball player in a small country playing overseas in obscurity. It could be a baseball player toiling away in the minor leagues with virtually no shot to ever reach the pinnacle of his profession.
I’m tired of not having an answer to these questions, so I’ve decided to educate myself–and, in turn, to educate those of you who are perpetually curious and/or incredibly nerdy.
Over the next few days, I will be rolling out a brief overview of how Clemson’s baseball alumni are doing in the minor leagues. We will begin with the major leagues and work down to the single-A level, giving a brief rundown of how players have performed statistically and general observations about the trajectory of those players.
Throughout the baseball season, these updates will be coming on a monthly basis–the perfect balance between relevance and overkill. This is a fun exercise for me, and hopefully, it will be a staple of your spring/summer reading. With 20 players playing professionally under the umbrella of MLB organizations, there is plenty to keep up with as far as Clemson’s own athletes are concerned.
With that in mind, let’s begin with a look at four former Tigers in the big leagues…
Jeff Baker, UTIL, Miami Marlins
8 GP, .000 (0-5)/.375/.000, 4 R, 3 BB, 3 K, 0.1 WAR
Baker hasn’t been used much as the very last guy on the Marlins’ bench. He has yet to log any defensive innings and hasn’t registered a hit, although he has displayed a good eye at the plate and has scored four runs in eight plate appearances, which speaks to his value.
Dominic Leone, RHP, Seattle Mariners
7 GP, 8.1 IP, 0-2, HD, 4.32 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 6.5 BB/9, 4.3 K/9, -0.1 WAR
Leone was a valuable middle-inning arm for the Mariners in 2014, but he failed to make the big-league club out of spring training. After only one AAA appearance, Leone found himself back in Seattle, but he has yet to duplicate his stellar numbers from a season ago. His walk and strikeout rates are out of whack, but that should be corrected with more work—something Leone should attain since Seattle seems to value him most as a multi-inning bullpen asset. In half of his eight appearances this season, the righty has been utilized to get more than three outs.
Brad Miller, SS, Seattle Mariners
22 GP (20 GS), .277/.333/.400, HR, 7 RBI, 4 R, 3-3 SB, 6 BB, 15 K, .969 FLD, 0.5 WAR
At one time, Miller was seen as one of several middle infield options in the Mariners’ organization. In a matter of months, the shortstop has gone from an expendable piece of trade bait to an everyday player. Miller has become roughly an average fielder at shortstop and has raised every batting metric to acceptable levels—albeit with a BABIP of .340 that suggests he is due for some regression. If he can remain somewhere around his current performance level, he will more than met expectations for a bottom-third lineup piece.
Tony Sipp, LHP, Houston Astros
10 GP, 11.1 IP, 2-0, 3 HD, 0.79 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 2.4 BB/9, 7.1 K/9, 0.7 WAR
At 31 years old, Sipp seems an unlikely candidate to enjoy a breakout season, but that’s exactly what’s occurring here in 2015. The left-hander is now primarily a full-inning bullpen arm for the Astros after spending much of his career as a specialist. He has delivered in abundance, picking up two wins and three holds in a month of work. Sipp’s fielding-independent number of 2.64 indicates only a slight regression in store, and he concluded April with an eight-game scoreless streak.