{"id":53656,"date":"2025-05-07T15:18:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T15:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=53656"},"modified":"2025-05-07T15:18:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T15:18:12","slug":"boston-red-sox-prospect-up-to-99-mph-roomed-with-son-of-idol-david-ortiz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=53656","title":{"rendered":"Boston Red Sox prospect up to 99 mph, roomed with son of idol David Ortiz"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hard-throwing lefty Brandon Clarke hasn\u2019t just added three pitches to his mix since the Red Sox drafted him in the fifth round (148th overall) last July.<\/p>\n

Clarke, who turned 22 on April 10, has also added a close friend (and roommate) who happens to be the son of his all-time favorite baseball player.<\/p>\n

\u201cDavid Ortiz was my favorite player growing up and so I followed the Red Sox my whole entire life,\u201d Clarke said by phone Monday.<\/p>\n

Clarke met Ortiz\u2019s son \u2014 fellow 2024 draft pick D\u2019Angelo Ortiz \u2014 while working out at the JetBlue Park complex during the offseason. Clarke, Ortiz and 2024 sixth round pick Blake Aita rented an Airbnb together during spring training.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got super close over spring training,\u201d Clarke said. \u201cI showed him pictures from when I was young and I showed him my (Red Sox\/Ortiz) jerseys and everything. It was pretty cool to be able to talk to him about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clarke \u2014 whose Red Sox fandom dates back to when he was 4 years old \u2014 has been one of Boston\u2019s most dominant minor league pitchers here early in the 2025 season.<\/p>\n

The southpaw (0.63 ERA) has allowed just one earned run, three hits and two walks while striking out 24 in 14 \u2153 innings over four starts for Low-A Salem and High-A Greenville. He received a promotion to Greenville last Monday, then struck out seven while allowing just one unearned run, one hit and no walks in 4 \u2154 innings against Asheville in his High-A debut last Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is nothing short of a blessing,\u201d Clarke said. \u201cI\u2019m so thankful for it. I try to step into every single day and not forget how blessed I am and how good of an opportunity it is. … Just enjoy every single day, not take it for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n

In college, Clarke primarily threw a four-seam fastball and curveball while also mixing in a changeup occasionally. But he\u2019s now a six-pitch pitcher after adding a sweeper, cutter and two-seamer since entering the organization. He still uses his curveball and changeup as secondary pitches, too.<\/p>\n

He already considers his cutter his best secondary pitch.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s my newest pitch, so that\u2019s pretty encouraging to see and be able to use,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve thrown it a lot this year. They asked me to have some usage goals and to use it in counts to challenge myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clarke throws his four-seam fastball up in the zone and keeps his two-seamer down. The cut fastball complements his other two fastballs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat pitch is huge,\u201d Clarke added about his cutter. \u201cReally, really big for me. It\u2019s a spin pitch that isn\u2019t straight like the fastball and looks like a fastball and I can throw it for strikes. I can throw it for chase later in the count for a strikeout.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s shown an ability to get swings and misses on the cutter both inside and outside of the zone.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s gonna be really big for me moving on … being able to spin that for strikes and then make it look like my fastball and get some swing and miss out of the zone for strikeouts, too,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Clarke has topped out at 99.5 mph this season. He said his velo \u201cdefinitely ticked up\u201d after the Tommy John surgery that he underwent as a junior in high school. He always threw with above-average velocity for his age. But he began throwing well above average post-surgery\/rehab.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I\u2019m in the zone at my 97 mph average and getting up to 99, 100, and sitting anywhere between 96 to 99, I would say, that\u2019s when I\u2019m most effective. Because then my offspeed pitches work just that much better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Clarke \u2014 who has struck out 45.3% of the batters he has faced \u2014 said he feels comfortable using all his secondary pitches late in counts.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to have a good mix up and good breakdown of all the pitches keeps the hitters on their toes,\u201d he said. \u201cSo the less you use them essentially, the more effective they are when you do use them. So honestly just mixing up all of them late in the count so that I can get the swing and miss.\u201d<\/p>\n

That includes his sweeper, which is new but a pitch he hasn\u2019t hesitated using.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a late in the count pitch for strikeout swing and miss because that\u2019s a left to right pitch as well,\u201d he said. \u201cObviously it\u2019s a bigger shape so sometimes it\u2019s something that you want to use late in the count to get swing and miss out of the zone. With the cutter. I can get swing and miss in the zone. But yeah, I\u2019m using all my pitches.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clarke was listed at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds coming out of State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota but he\u2019s now around 230-235 pounds, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur nutrition program does a great job of taking care of us, getting us the fuel we need, the food we need,\u201d he said. \u201cSo just resting, getting my sleep, eating a lot of food and just working out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clarke (just two walks) said strike-throwing \u201chas been a huge part\u201d of his game this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always threw hard. I just needed to throw more strikes and that was a big piece for me starting last year,\u201d he said. \u201cLast season, getting into my last season of college ball and coming into pro ball, I took a huge step just being able to be over the plate and throw strikes. And then since I\u2019ve gotten into pro ball, it\u2019s taken another step.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said there\u2019s still \u201cmore room to grow\u201d with command\/control.<\/p>\n

\u201cWill continue to get better and throw more strikes but that\u2019s been really cool to see,\u201d Clarke said.<\/p>\n

He described getting the call on draft day from his favorite team as \u201ca pretty cool experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clarke has yet to meet David Ortiz despite rooming with D\u2019Angelo.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, I was more of a hitter my whole life growing up,\u201d Clarke said about having a hitter (not a pitcher) as his childhood idol. \u201cI didn\u2019t really follow or study pitching too much until I started getting into high school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clarke has visited Fenway Park three times. His parents first took him there for his 12th birthday in 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey surprised me with that,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t remember anything about the game other than the Jays beat the Sox that night. It\u2019s been quite a while but that was a great experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully we can make it a point where I\u2019m playing in the stadium sometime here soon,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n