Clay Zavada
| IP | 51 |
|---|---|
| ERA | 3.353 |
| WHIP | 1.353 |
| BB/9 | 4.235 |
| SO/9 | 9.176 |
- Full name Clay Pflibson Zavada
- Born 06/28/1984 in Streator, IL
- Profile Ht.: 6'1" / Wt.: 185 / Bats: L / Throws: L
- School Southern Illinois - Edwardsville
- Debut 05/21/2009
- Drafted in the 30th round (897th overall) by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2006.
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
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Zavada's story is the stuff movies are made from. The Diamondbacks took him late in the 2006 draft and his career got off to a decent start, but he asked for his release after the 2006 season when his father died, so he could help out his family. After a year away from the game, he was interested in getting back into baseball, so Arizona helped him hook on with Southern Illinois of the independent Frontier League. He posted a 1.72 ERA in 12 appearances, so Arizona brought him back, doing so by means of an unofficial trade with the Miners. Trades with independent clubs aren't allowed by Major League Baseball, so the Diamondbacks released first baseman Brad Miller to sign with Southern Illinois and re-signed Zavada. And he wasn't just a heartwarming story--Zavada dominated in South Bend. He was old for the league but he gave up just one hit to a lefthander in 35 innings. He has an average fastball that sits in the low-90s that hitters have trouble picking up, as well as a changeup that can be a plus pitch, and his breaking ball is developing into enough of a weapon to allow him to dominate out of the pen. He's not overpowering but throws strikes and knows how to miss bats. He's very aggressive and controls both sides of the plate. Zavada is back on the radar and was added to the 40-man roster after the season. Now he'll try to make up for lost time, possibly jumping to the Mobile bullpen to start the season. He should at least be able to reach the big leagues as a lefty specialist and could be a little bit better than that.
