Kody Clemens

Kody Alec Clemens (born May 15, 1996) is an American professional baseball infielder and outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Detroit Tigers. Clemens is the son of seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens.

Not to be confused with Koby Clemens.

Kody Clemens
Clemens with the Toledo Mud Hens in 2021
Philadelphia Phillies – No. 23
Infielder / Outfielder
Born: (1996-05-15) May 15, 1996
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 31, 2022, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.191
Home runs9
Runs batted in30
Win–loss record0–0
Earned run average3.72
Strikeouts2
Teams

Clemens played college baseball for the Texas Longhorns. He was selected by the Tigers with the 79th overall pick of the 2018 MLB draft.[1] He made his major league debut for the Tigers in 2022, and was traded to Philadelphia after the 2022 season.

Early life

Clemens attended Memorial High School in Houston, Texas.[2][3] Playing for the school's baseball team, he batted .553 during his senior season.[4] He was named first team all-district selection in 2013 and was a Perfect Game Honorable Mention for high school in 2013 and 2014. He committed to the University of Texas at Austin to play college baseball for the Texas Longhorns.[5]

College career

As a freshman in 2016 he batted with a .242 batting average and five home runs. As a sophomore in 2017, Clemens underwent Tommy John surgery.[6][7] However, Clemens did play as the team's designated hitter. Clemens had a breakout junior season batting .352 with 23 home runs. These stats earned him Big 12 player of the week.[8] On June 7, 2018, Clemens was named a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy.[9]

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

The Detroit Tigers selected Clemens in the third round, with the 79th overall pick, in the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.[1] He received a $600,000 signing bonus[10] and made his professional debut with the West Michigan Whitecaps of the Class A Midwest League.[11] He was promoted to the Lakeland Flying Tigers of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League in August. In 52 total games between the two clubs, Clemens slashed .288/.365/.450 with five home runs and 20 RBIs.[12] Clemens began 2019 with Lakeland,[13] before being promoted to the Erie SeaWolves at the end of the season. Over 128 games between both teams, he batted .231/.310/.397 with 12 home runs and 63 RBIs.

In July 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Clemens signed on to play for Team Texas of the Constellation Energy League, a makeshift four-team independent league, for the season.[2] He was subsequently named MVP of his team.[14] Clemens spent the 2021 season with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens, slashing .247/.312/.466 with 18 home runs and 59 RBIs in 97 games. He was selected to the 40-man roster following the season on November 19, 2021.[15] Clemens returned to Toledo for the start of the 2022 season.[16]

Detroit Tigers (2022)

On May 30, 2022, the Tigers promoted Clemens to the major leagues when Robbie Grossman was placed on the injured list.[16] On June 13, Clemens got his first hit of his career, a single off of Lance Lynn of the Chicago White Sox. [17] On June 15, Clemens made his major league pitching debut and gave up one run in one inning of work.[18] On June 25, Clemens hit a three-run, go-ahead home run off of Joe Mantiply of the Arizona Diamondbacks. This was his first home run in his career.[19] Clemens was optioned back down to Toledo on July 12[20] but recalled on July 21.[21] Clemens recorded his first MLB career strikeout on September 6, against the 2021 American League MVP Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels.[22] On October 4, Clemens hit his first career slam off of Seattle Mariners starter Justus Sheffield.[23]

Philadelphia Phillies (2023)

On January 7, 2023, the Tigers traded Clemens and pitcher Gregory Soto to the Philadelphia Phillies for outfielder Matt Vierling, infielder Nick Maton, and catcher Donny Sands.[24] Clemens was optioned to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs to begin the 2023 season [25] but was recalled on April 7, 2023.[26] On July 2, 2023, Clemens was sent back to the Triple-A, where he would remain for the rest of the season.[27]

Personal life

Clemens is the son of former MLB pitcher Roger Clemens.[28] Clemens has three brothers: Koby, Kory, and Kacy. Koby also played baseball professionally. All four have names starting with the letter "K", which in baseball scorekeeping designates a strikeout.[29]

References
  1. "Tigers pick Kody Clemens with 79th overall pick". June 6, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  2. "Kody Clemens College, Minor & Independent Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  3. Lapin, Elliott; writer, Staff (June 11, 2020). "Memorial alum selected in MLB draft". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  4. "Kody Clemens' (Houston, TX) Baseball Stats". MaxPreps.
  5. "Kody Clemens - Baseball". University of Texas Athletics. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  6. "Texas 3B Kody Clemens to undergo Tommy John surgery". Burnt Orange Nation. August 16, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  7. Christian Red. "Roger Clemens' son and Texas Longhorns infielder Kody to undergo Tommy John surgery". NY Daily News. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  8. "After being named the Big 12's top player for this past week, will Kody Clemens win annual award?". Austin-American Statesman. May 21, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  9. "Kody Clemens a finalist for Golden Spikes, Dick Howser awards". Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  10. "Kody Clemens forgoes senior season, signs with the Detroit Tigers | The Daily Texan". Dailytexanonline.com. June 25, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  11. "Kody Clemens looks to settle in, not settle down with Whitecaps". MLive.com. July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  12. "Kody Clemens Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  13. "Projecting Tigers minor league rosters: The 2019 Lakeland Flying Tigers". March 26, 2019.
  14. "Constellation Energy League Team MVPs". Sugar Land Skeeters. September 2, 2020. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020 – via Wayback Machine.
  15. "Tigers' Kody Clemens: Joins 40-man roster".
  16. "Injuries & Moves: Kody Clemens recalled; Grossman on IL". MLB.com. May 30, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  17. Woodbery, Evan (June 13, 2022). "Watch Tigers rookie Kody Clemens get his first MLB hit". MLive. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  18. "Roger Clemens' son, who is not a pitcher, makes MLB pitching debut".
  19. Bordow, Scott (June 26, 2022). "Clemens' first career homer lifts Tigers over D-Backs 6-3". Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  20. Petzold, Evan. "Detroit Tigers call back Akil Baddoo to big leagues: 'We need guys that are playing good'". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  21. Woodbery, Evan. "Tigers promote 2 infielders to start 2nd half of season". mlive. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  22. "Kody Clemens, son of MLB legend Roger Clemens, gets 1st strikeout vs. Ohtani". upi.com. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  23. "Swept in Seattle, Tigers waste Kody Clemens' grand slam in nightcap". detroitnews.com. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  24. "Tigers get 3 players from Phils for Soto, Clemens". MLB.com. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  25. "Phillies' Kody Clemens: Bound to Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  26. "Phillies call up Kody Clemens, start him at 1B right away". nbcsports.com. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  27. "Phillies' Kody Clemens: Bound for minors". cbssports.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  28. Levine, Amanda (May 4, 2021). "Roger Clemens sees bright future for his son, Mud Hens infielder Kody Clemens". toledoblade.com.
  29. Axisa, Mike (May 30, 2022). "Tigers promote Kody Clemens, Roger's youngest son, to MLB roster". CBS Sports. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.