Cleveland Indians Bet Big on Emmanuel Clase

The Cleveland Indians have traded Corey Kluber to the Texas Rangers, receiving a package headlined by 21-year-old flamethrower Emmanuel Clase. The righty has oodles of potential, but how good does he have to be in order to justify the trade from the Indians’ point of view?

When Texas Rangers right-handed pitcher Emmanuel Clase induced a groundout off the bat of Yankees SS Didi Gregorious on September 29, 2019, he couldn’t have possibly known he had thrown his last pitch as a member of the Rangers. The 21-year-old righty from the Dominican Republic had impressed many in his first taste of the Major Leagues, compiling a 2.31 ERA and 8.1 K/9 over 23.1 innings. Even in Clase’s last appearance, the Rangers were already looking towards next season, entering an offseason where GM Jon Daniels would look to supplement a roster on the cusp of contention, with the likes of OF Joey Gallo, RHP Lance Lynn, and LHP Mike Minor already in tow.

Clase figured to be a part of that future, or so it seemed. Over the weekend, the Rangers dealt Clase, along with OF Delino DeShields, to the Cleveland Indians for two-time AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber.

In terms of building a winning club, the trade represents a contrasting strategy of the two teams – acquiring Kluber is very much a “win-now” move for the Rangers, whereas adding Clase and DeShields is an effort to maintain an inexpensive-yet-talented roster in Cleveland.

When a  franchise deals the ace of their staff, typically, one would assume that the team is entering a rebuilding phase. In this case, however, that assumption would be false. The Indians fully plan on contending in 2020, hoping to return to the playoffs in an AL Central that houses the Minnesota Twins, who won 101 games last season, and a promising Chicago White Sox club.

DeShields, while serviceable, is by no means the centerpiece of the Indians’ return. That would be Clase, who clearly the Indians see as a player with extreme promise What exactly does the righty bring to the table, both in the immediate future and the long-term, and is he enough to warrant the Indians’ trading Kluber?

Hailing from the Dominican Republic, right-handed pitcher Emmanuel Clase was originally signed by the San Diego Padres in 2015, one month prior to his 17th birthday. In his first three years of professional baseball, Clase was a prime example of a young, erratic flamethrower, flashing elite strikeout potential amidst poor control.

Following a 2017 season in which he struggled mightily between Rookie and Low-A ball, Clase’s inconsistency kept him off many Top Prospect lists entering 2018. Being somewhat buried in a loaded Padres farm system at the time, he was deemed expendable – Clase was sent to the Rangers as a “player to be named later” to complete a trade in early May 2018.

Within the Texas organization, however, Clase seemed to come into his own. He simply dominated as a reliever in Low-A in 2018, amassing a 0.64 ERA while displaying exceptional control, evidenced by an excellent 20.0% K-BB%. As such, Clase quickly made himself known within the organization, ranking as the 21st-best prospect in the Rangers farm system entering 2019, according to Fangraphs.

Clase quickly earned a promotion to AA, where he continued to excel – in 37.2 relief innings, Clase struck out 39 batters while walking only 8, good for an impressive 2.36 FIP. In fact, he was so impressive that the Rangers promoted him to the Majors on August 2nd, where he was used in relief over the season’s last two months.

In his brief first taste of the Majors, Clase flashed what will ultimately define his game – an absolutely astonishing cut-fastball. With an average velocity of 99.4 MPH, the pitch is extremely unique. In fact, there’s even a bit of discrepancy as to whether the pitch classifies as a true four-seam fastball or a cutter.

Consider it a four-seamer, and it moves in ways unlike pitches similar to it. Fangraphs classifies the pitch as a four-seamer, and of pitchers with a minimum of 20 IP in 2019, Clase ranked third in four-seamer average velocity at  99.4 MPH. However, looking at how the other fastballs in the top 15 in velocity moved, Clase’s heater stands out. His pitch had almost 3.6 inches of more run in the opposite direction, as well as 2.5 inches of less vertical movement.

White Cleat Beat

Classifying it as a cutter, which is how Statcast identifies the pitch, doesn’t help it conform either. According to Statcast, out of all 46,542 cutters thrown in 2019, Clase threw the fastest 141 of them. Whether categorized as a four-seamer with unique movement or an outrageously fast cutter, Clase’s fastball is a pitch unlike any other in today’s game.

The unique fastball was incredibly difficult to hit in 2019, with hitters posting a 0.290 xwOBA against the pitch, according to Statcast. Paired with a devastating slider that has 24% more drop and 68% more run than average, Clase has a powerful 1-2 punch that’s tailored for a future as an elite shutdown reliever.

In order to reach that ceiling, however, Clase will need to continue to develop his game in order to consistently mow down hitters. Even if he reaches his potential, one question looms large: can he provide enough value to justify the Indians dealing Kluber?