Clement catching attention this spring

03/08/2006
PEORIA, Ariz. -- Walking into the Mariners' big-league clubhouse, look to the right and there's Seattle's "Catcher's Row."
Against the wall are Japanese import Kenji Johjima, the starter, Rene Rivera, Johjima's likely backup, and Rob Johnson, the M's fourth-round pick in 2004 who should be ready for Double-A. But other than Johjima, no one in the row has generated as much buzz and gotten as much attention as 2005 first-round pick Jeff Clement.
Not that this should be surprising to anyone. Clement, after all, was the No. 3 overall pick in last June's First-Year Player Draft and signed at the end of July for $3.4 million, a club record for a drafted player. Considering the Mariners hadn't drafted and signed a pure first-round pick since 1999 -- when they nabbed catcher Ryan Christianson with their first selection -- it's understandable why everyone is curious to see Clement in action.
"How he's handled his first Spring Training is amazing," said Johnson, a grizzled veteran who is now in his second spring with the organization. "He's a first-class guy, this is his first Spring Training, and he's in the big-league locker room. He's a great guy to be around. I'm glad he's got the locker next to me. We talk a lot about the game and getting better."
Unlike Christianson, who was more of a project as a high school catcher back in '99, Clement was taken out of a big program -- USC -- with the expectation that he'd move through the system quickly. After hitting .348 as a junior with the Trojans, he did nothing to lower those expectations by hitting .319 and slugging .522 in a jump to Class A Wisconsin after four tune-up games with short-season Class A Everett in the Northwest League. He then held his own by hitting .269 and homering three times in the Arizona Fall League.
Some high draftees, after a debut like that, would be feeling pretty good about themselves entering their first Spring Training. But the perfectionist in Clement saw a lot in his debut that he'd like to change.
"I was pretty streaky last year," admitted Clement, who was hitting .224 after his first 14 games with Wisconsin, but then reeled off a nine-game hitting streak that brought his average up to .344, only to see him go 4-for-21 down the stretch to finish at .319. "I'm going to try to maintain the same mindset going into every week, every at-bat, every game, every day. As long as I can do that, take everything day to day, without letting the lows get me down or the highs get me too high -- just keep a level head the whole year. I think then I can stop some of those long streaks, try to make the bad streaks shorter."
Truth be told, no one with the Mariners is too worried about Clement's bat. Already with a homer to his credit this spring, his offensive ability is what made him a No. 3 pick and is what could have him in Double-A by the end of his first full season. He's got as much power from the left side as any recent draftee, and there isn't a catcher in recent memory who can even compare with his upside potential with the stick.
His work behind the plate is a different matter. He's not a bad receiver, but it's undeniable that his bat is way ahead of his glove. He did throw out a less-than-awful 29 percent of basestealers in his debut season. No one is talking about a need to move him, but he does have considerable work to do behind the plate.
"He's a great hitter, he's got power. Catching, he's young, just out of college," said Rivera, who is known more for his defense and is actually less than a month older than Clement. "He's working hard to get better every day. I haven't seen him play a game yet, but whatever happens, he's a great guy and it looks like he'll be a good catcher."
It certainly doesn't hurt to be surrounded by all the catching talent in the Mariners system. Both Rivera and Johnson have established themselves as very strong behind the plate and Johjima has a reputation as a good all-around backstop. Clement has been trying to soak up as much from them, as well as the other big leaguers, for as long as he's in camp.
"I didn't really know what to expect coming into it, but it's been good up to this point," Clement said. "Being able to get some work with guys at the Major League level, you can't help but get better by working out with them.
"It's good to be working with guys of this caliber to try to make myself better, seeing what they do and trying to pick apart little things they do that may work for me."
"I think he's going to be a very good baseball player overall," Johnson said. "He's got some things to work on defensively -- we all do. He's going to get it in, because he's a hard worker."
Assuming the hard work pays off, Clement could be knocking on the door to a big-league catching job by the end of the 2007 season. That's when things could get interesting -- considering the depth the organization has at his position. Catcher's Row already has established some friendly competition, and that could be fun to watch as the newer guys get closer to being big-league ready. Clement, for his part, is staying above that fray and trying to concentrate on his game.
"There's no reason to concern myself with it, because I'm not making those decisions," Clement said about the future logjam behind the plate in Seattle. "The only thing I can focus on is taking it a day at a time and trying to get better.
"If I focus on that stuff, then I'm not going to compete at a high level, or compete as well. I don't worry about any of that stuff. I just worry about playing and getting better."
"We already have that. All the catchers here get along. We all talk. We all work real hard," Rivera said. "There's already that competition. There's a lot of catchers here and yeah, it makes it harder to win a job, but there's also 29 other teams out there. When you're a catcher and you do your job, teams take notice of that."

Source: http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/