What To Expect From Denzel Clarke

Earlier today the A’s made a blockbuster trade with the Aviators and made out like bandits. The A’s received CFer Denzel Clarke, infielders Logan Davidson and CJ Alexander, pitcher Jacob Lopez, and catcher Willie MacIver, and had to give up only JJ Bleday, RP Carlos Duran, back up catcher Jhonny Pereda, and a Player To Be Claimed Later (Seth Brown, DFA). To make space on the active roster, Gio Urshela was moved from mediocrity to the IL.

The noteworthy player in all this, of course, is Clarke. As a toolsy, raw, athletically gifted player Clarke comes with a wide range of possible outcomes both in the short and long term. Here’s what you can expect:

Pure Athleticism: 10/10

One of Clarke’s strengths will be that he is a tremendous natural athlete. The son of a former Olympic heptathlete, Denzel inherited his mom’s genes for sure.

You can count on Clarke to flash elite speed if and when he puts the ball in play and gets on base, which is important because it’s an area the current team has lacked all season. Clarke immediately becomes the A’s fastest player and best base stealing threat and has terrific range in the outfield.

Defense: Clarke’s Calling Card

Expect top notch CF defense from Clarke, with the caveat that each new stadium takes some getting used to, as does having new partners in crime to your LF and RF.

I don’t expect Clarke to struggle much, though, even in the short term. In contrast to the challenge of constantly facing pitchers for the first time, a first tour around the league offers less variance in the field.

Clarke knows how to play a gold glove caliber CF and even nerves combined with learning new spaces won’t prevent him from playing the position well even if he improves over time.

And Clarke is familiar with Lawrence Butler in RF, so no learning curve there. At worst Clarke figures to be a refreshing contrast to Bleday/Brown, making all the plays a CF should and a few more with the occasional “newbie” mistake. At best the A’s go overnight from having one of the very worst defensive CFers to having one of the finest.

Offense: Muncy? Kurtz? Wilson?

At the plate is where it’s hard to know what to expect from Clarke. Max Muncy flailed something fierce in his 21 game trial (.176/.211/.279). Nick Kurtz is only now coming out of an initial funk in which he walked less than expected, struck out more than expected, and had an 0 for 21 skid. Jacob Wilson may be setting the world on fire batting .342, but his early tries were less than exciting (.250/.314/.315).

Clarke’s “raw athleticism” profile leaves ample room for early struggles at the plate. He has been somewhat enigmatic in his MiLB career, sometimes walking a lot but hitting for little power and other times slugging but not showing as much plate discipline.

Most recently, Clarke has been lighting it up at AAA with a .436 OBP for the season and a career low 21.8% K rate, but he also did not hit a single HR. What does it all mean for these first games?

First off, I think you have to expect some struggles. If Kurtz and Wilson scuffled, likely Clarke will too to some degree. If he opens his career 3 for 20 with 9 Ks it doesn’t mean he won’t hit in the big leagues. He is also 25, not 22 as Muncy, Kurtz, and Wilson all were when they debuted, and played in nearly 300 more MiLB games than Kurtz or Wilson did.

My hope is that Clarke will take a smart approach early and use his skills to maximize his success while he is getting his feet wet. Drop a couple bunts and use your speed. Don’t swing too much while pitchers are counting on you to chase, and recognize how valuable a walk is to an elite base stealer and runner. Keep the swing short and use the whole field, and trust that the power will show up later.

The bottom line is that the bar for CF was set low on both sides of the ball. Clarke could hit “only” .204/.291/.365 and he would be exactly 2025 JJ Bleday — only with plus CF defense instead of terrible CF defense.

If he matches his projections he will either be a scary clone of Bleday (.210/.289/.348 projected by OOPSY) or maybe more like .227/.292/.358 (THE BAT). We know that if he makes enough contact, Clarke will get more than his fair share of infield hits — the question will be how the BB and K rates show up.

When you look at the Fab Five joining the roster for tonight’s game, for the most it looks like a bit of rearranging of deck chairs on the Titanic. Jacob Lopez probably won’t be an ace anytime soon and Willie MacIver is a nicer story than he is an actual batting champion (he was leading the PCL in hitting at .389).

But not so with Clarke. He is someone the A’s hope will be part of the deep core of a competitive A’s team these next few years. No pressure, kid.