Yesterday, the baseball world turned its eye to Trenton, New Jersey. It was there that future Hall of Fame pitcher Roger Clemens made his second rehab start of the season. What got little coverage however was the 22-year-old Texan who outpitched The Rocket in only his first season at the Double-A level. That pitcher was Clay Buchholz, the best starting pitching prospect in the Red Sox organization. And even though he outdueled Roger Clemens, his start was actually sub-par in comparison to the numbers he’s been putting up at Double-A Portland all year.
Buchholz isn’t just a pitcher, he is a true athlete. Not only can he pitch, but he was offered chances to play football at multiple colleges, including Texas and Notre Dame. His true passion however is baseball and it shows. What he’s accomplished in his short professional career is truly astounding. In 45.2 innings of work this year, he’s allowed only 10 earned runs (1.97 ERA), 32 hits and 7 walks. Not only is that good for a WHIP of 0.85, but he’s also struck out more than 12 batters per 9 innings of work in the process.
The success that Buchholz has found this season isn’t a fluke either. In his two previous years at the minor league level, Buchholz has managed an ERA of 2.47 while striking out more than 10 batters per 9 innings of work. And the best part about him is his control. Buchholz certainly is stingy with his free passes. He allows a walk about every 4 innings of work. Yesterday, Buchholz managed 6 innings while walking none and striking out 8. Coming into this season he had a minor league WHIP of 1.02.
For more on Buchholz, you can visit Sox On Deck and check out this story that Brandon Magee put together on the young pitcher. There, you can find out more specifics on Wednesday’s performance and just why it is that some scouts thought Buchholz looked more major league ready than Roger Clemens.
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