According to the MiLB.com transaction page for the Appalachian League, the Pittsburgh Pirates have released minor league pitcher Michael Clemens. He was the 17th round draft pick in 2014 and was pitching well for Bristol until he suspended in mid-August for testing positive for HGH. Under the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, he was suspended for 68 games, which means he would have missed almost all of the 2015 season. Clemens had a 1.00 ERA in 13 relief appearances for Bristol, striking out 20 batters in 18 innings. The 21-year-old will need to sign with another team before he can serve out the remainder of his suspension.
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball.
When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.
Good riddance to a cheat.
Our new catcher was a cheater too….
Yes unfortunately. It was a sad day when they traded for him.
Not that Appalachian League relievers are anything to fret over losing, but doesn’t it seem a little drastic to just release the guy? Or is it industry standard to do things like this?
I think if he was a higher draft pick, he would have been kept around, but it’s basically a lost year in 2015. He won’t be able to return to the field until late August, and then you’re talking about a 22-year-old reliever at the lowest levels, basically starting over and he has a suspension on his short resume. The odds were stacked against him to begin with. A lot of teams will release marginal players that get suspended, using them as a teaching moment.
Makes sense. Thank you.
“Million dollar arm; five cent head.” -Crash Davis from “Bull Durham
Maybe it’s just a $250,000 arm without the HGH.