Ian Clarkin, a high school left-hander who is committed to the University of San Diego, has the size and stuff that big league teams like to see. Clarkin has a slightly-unorthodox delivery that features a high leg kick and uses up quite a bit of effort, which works both in his favor and to his detriment.
MLB Draft 2013 scouting report round-up: LHP Ian Clarkin
Left-handed pitcher Ian Clarkin was inconsistent during his senior season in high school, but his stuff and tools make him hard to overlook.
Chung Sung-Jun
Clarkin hides the ball well but can be erratic with his fastball command at times because of the difficulty of repeating his delivery. He has been able to offset some of the consistency issues with a plus curveball.
When his command is on, Clarkin’s fastball is above-average, ranging from 90 to 93 miles per hour with good movement. Clarkin also throws a changeup, but it has been described by scouts as not much more than average at this point.
Vital statistics
| Ian Clarkin | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pos | High School / College | Consensus Rank |
| RHP | James Madison HS (Calif.) | 1st round (Phillies) |
| B/T | Birthdate (age) | Height / Weight |
| L/L | Feb. 14, 1995 (18) | 6'2 / 190 pounds |
What they’re saying
- Matt Garrioch, Minor League Ball: “The best I saw [Clarkin] was with a 94 MPH fastball and a potential plus-plus breaking ball at 72-75 MPH. It looked unhittable and unfair at times.“Keith Law, ESPN: “Clarkin doesn’t do it easy, but he’s a good-sized lefty who throws hard and can spin a breaking ball, so even with some serious inconsistency this spring, he’s likely to go off the board in the top 50 picks, maybe even late in the first round.”
- Jonathan Mayo, MLB.com: “[Clarkin’s] results over the summer were a bit mixed, throwing well at the Area Code Games, but struggling with fastball command elsewhere ... The raw stuff from the left side should keep many first-round teams interested on Draft day.”
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