Wes Clarke

No hitter in college baseball was off to a better start this spring than Clarke, who homered eight times in his first six games of the season and finished the year tied for first in the nation with 23 home runs—along with Florida State catcher Matheu Nelson. Clarke has plenty of strength in his 6-foot-2, 235-pound frame and a track record of hitting for power at South Carolina and in summer collegiate leagues. Clarke has the natural strength and hand power to hit balls out of the park from pole to pole and will occasionally mis-hit balls or just get under pitches that he’s still able to drive over the fence. Power is clearly Clarke’s calling card, but it did come with a 28% strikeout rate this spring. That’s notable, but probably not a deal-breaker because Clarke is more than capable of drawing a walk and his 19.5% walk rate was among the best of all SEC hitters. Clarke was a much better hitter against fastballs this spring than breaking or offspeed offerings, and because of that some scouts wonder what sort of hitter he’ll be at the next level when pitchers can more consistently throw those pitches for strikes. He hammered fastballs and had no problem with 93-plus mph velocity, but there are scouts who think he has below-average bat speed, and his numbers steadily declined throughout SEC play—with 15 of his 23 homers coming against non-SEC teams. Clarke has a limited defensive profile and will probably be suited for just first base in pro ball. He’s caught infrequently at South Carolina, but the industry doesn’t seem to view him as a candidate to play there in pro ball.