Minnesota Twins sign free agent Jeff Clement for Minor League Deal - MLB News
First baseman Jeff Clement was signed by the Minnesota Twins for a Minor League deal, along with an invitation to Spring Training according to an announcement made by the Twins on Monday.
The 29-year-old was with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2012 season. He was mainly a part of their farm system where he did perform quite well for Triple-A Indianapolis. In the 112 games for the team, he had a .276 batting average with 57 RBI’s and 16 home-runs.
His career numbers in the Minors are also quite decent.
Jeff was unable to carry his form into the Major League though. He had limited opportunities and only played 23 games in the Majors in 2012, only having 22 at-bats with a low average of .136 and a .208 on-base percentage, batting in a single run.
The left-handed hitter was originally was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 2005 in the First Year Player Draft and was their top prospect. He made his Major League debut in 2007 for the Seattle Mariners and showed a lot of promise in the few games that
he played in. He could, however, not take that form in the seasons to come.
Born in Marshalltown, Iowa, Jeff was a part of the 1996 Little League World Series as a twelve-year-old. He also enjoyed a fair amount of success in his high school baseball as he broke the national high school record for home-runs, going long on 75 occasions
for the Marshalltown High School.
The Minnesota Twins drafted him in 2002 in the 12th round but Clement opted out. Jeff joined the University of South Carolina and won several accolades for his good performances including the Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American first team.
His good performance meant he kept on receiving more honours including the Baseball America All-America First Team in his junior year in college amongst many others.
Originally a catcher, Clement has mostly played at the first base during his professional career. He will have a pretty stiff competition in both spots from the likes of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. The Twins also have other players already who can take
up these positions if needed.
He will most likely start the 2013 season with the Minnesota Twins Triple-A associates Rochester Red Wings in the International League. A stint in the Majors with Twins in 2013 can be possible with some good performances for the Red Wings.
Jeff Clement is a player with a lot of potential and the fact the majority of his Minor League career has been with the Triple-A teams shows that. He has to perform at the highest level though to realise that potential and live up to the promise he had shown
during his early days in school and college baseball.
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