Clay Buchholz, the Sox’ top pitching prospect, instantly comes to mind, but there’s another Clay—Caleb Clay—who is all too eager to make McLeod look, as Buchholz has, like a very smart man. Clay makes his professional debut this week with the short-season Single-A Lowell Spinners.
Diehard: You only recently became a pitcher after converting from an outfielder in your senior season of high school. How did that conversion come about?
Caleb Clay: Well, our number two pitcher on my high school team got hurt, so I basically had to come in and start pitching a lot, but I was the closer before that happened.
DH: What was your motivation for working out so hard during the off-season before your senior year?
CC: Just because I knew there were a lot of expectations. My junior year I hit third. I pitched a little bit, like 10-15 innings. I knew I’d have to step up and pitch a lot, and carry my team offensively.
DH: Did you meet your expectations on offense?
CC: Yeah, but I think I could have done better. It was just a lack of concentration, immature stuff.
DH: When did you know that pitching was going to be your future? When did scouts start paying attention?
CC: My senior year, about ten games into the season, that’s when I saw the first scout. Well, my parents, and all the parents of my teammates told me after the games. I was up in Myrtle Beach playing in a tournament, and I think it was one of the Braves’ scouts that showed up. And obviously he must have started spreading the word or whatever.
DH: At what point were you fairly sure you were going to have a chance to turn pro? And what was it going to take for you break your commitment to Auburn?
CC: At the beginning of the playoffs, my senior year. I knew if I was going to get drafted, I was going to go. People that have been through it, friends, my current agent, they told me just to have a figure, a number in your head, and if you’re offered more than that, then go. If not, go to college.
DH: When it came down to draft day, did you have a pretty good idea where you might go?
CC: I had a feeling I’d go in the second round somewhere, because the Braves were looking at me a lot, and they had, like, four second-round picks. So I figured I’d probably go there. If not there, somewhere between the third and fifth round.
DH: Were you surprised when the Red Sox drafted you?
CC: Yeah, I was. I mean, they talked to me a lot. [Red Sox area scout] Danny Watkins was at most or all of my games. He was probably one of the first guys that started talking to me. He talked to me the most, by far. I knew that the Braves and the Red Sox and the Dodgers were the top teams.
DH: What happened after the draft? How long was it until you actually signed?
CC: I got drafted [June] 6th, went up to Boston, like, the 9th or 10th and got my physical, drug test, and everything. And then I came down [to Ft. Myers] and had to wait for results of my tests for almost three weeks or so. I signed on the 28th of June.
DH: What was the injury that prevented you from participating in the Gulf Coast League after you signed?
CC: Elbow tendonitis. It was on and off. Plus, they said I threw a lot my senior year, so, on top of that, they just shut me down.
DH: It was a year ago that you were drafted, now you’re on the verge of making your professional debut. Do you ever think about that?
CC: My last year has flown by. I don’t know, it’s just been really fast. But I miss hitting.
DH: Do you ever think you’ll get a chance to do that again?
CC: No. I try to tell all of the guys here that I can hit, but they don’t believe me.
DH: Do you think you would have ever had a chance to play pro ball as a position player?
CC: Yeah, I think so. The Braves, and another team, somebody else, had invited me to come to their showcases as a hitter.
DH: But you knew your future was as a pitcher. Why?
CC: It’s just a lot more natural to me. I don’t have freakish speed or power.
DH: You have excellent velocity on you fastball though. How fast did you throw last season?
CC: Last year I hit 95 probably 10 or 12 times. I usually throw at 91-93 during games.
DH: And it has a lot of movement, too, right?
CC: As far as I know. I can’t really tell, but my coach always said it sank and ran.
DH: You had mentioned in Spring Training that you were working on getting better control of your changeup. What was the issue there?
CC: I’d pull off sometimes, and it made me get under my pitches, and go high, obviously.
DH: How do you fix something like that?
CC: I basically just worked on not opening up and staying closed for as long as I could. My changeup has gotten a lot better over the last month. I’ve been working with [minor league pitching coordinator] Goose [Gregson] down in [extended spring training]. He’s really been helping me out.
DH: Were you having the same issue with fastball command?
CC: Sometimes, yeah. It was the same thing, but it’s just something where you’re getting the feel for the changeup.
DH: You throw a slider as well. How do you feel about that pitch?
CC: Most sliders are really quick and late, but mine is, I don’t know if it’s more of a slurve, but it moves more. It’s a little bit slower and it moves more. It’s not a true slider, but it’s not a curveball. Hopefully, once I get a little bit older and a little bit stronger, I can develop a true slider and a curveball.
DH: So when you say it moves more, does it break down like a curveball, or does it move across the zone more like a slider?
CC: Both. Down and across.
DH: Ty Weeden caught you in some of your extended spring training games. He said you were outstanding in your last two or three outings, that you’ve really come into your own. Would you agree with that?
CC: Yeah, I’ve been throwing well. I’m just hoping I can keep it up, that I can carry it over into the season.
DH: Has there been anything in your pro experience so far that has surprised you?
CC: Nothing has really surprised me. Things are a little different than I’m used to, but nothing’s really surprised me. Maybe just throwing everyday has been different. You have to learn how to take time off, every other day, to save your arm, because you’ve got to throw every day.
DH: What are you anticipating in Lowell for your first pro experience?
CC: I’m anticipating throwing a lot of fastballs. That’s one thing pitching coaches have told us. Work on your fastball, command it, and once you get ahead, use the changeup. I expect the hitters to probably be pretty good. But I’m not worried about anything.
DH: This will be your first taste of baseball in New England. What do you think the fans will be like in Lowell?
CC: I go to the Red Sox games, and I look at how that is, and basically scale it down a bit. I think I know what to expect, but then again, I could be wrong.
|