Koby

Clemens

According to the Puerto Rican newspaper Primera Hora, Clemens left the Mayagüez Indians last Wednesday without providing any reason. And still hasn’t given one. His father had been throwing bullpen sessions at the club’s facilities and was even offered an active spot on their roster, but that’s all over now. Koby, a former Astros prospect, is currently a minor league free agent.

Roger’s son failed to progress after his promising 2009 season and wasn’t able to make the transition behind the plate. The 25-year-old batted .234/.331/.424 with 16 homers, 55 RBI and a .756 OPS with the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate last year while making starts at first base, third base and left field. He’ll serve as organizational fodder with Toronto.

Clemens began this season with Double-A New Hampshire but batted just .148 with a .559 OPS in 18 games there and then failed to improve his numbers after being demoted to High-A Dunedin. The 25-year-old son of Roger Clemens is running out of time.

The Jays granted Clemens’ request to be cut loose, as the 25-year-old will catch for his father, Roger, during his start on September 12 with the independent league Sugar Land Skeeters. Clemens will look to catch on with another organization over the winter.

Clemens hit .306 with four homers and a .491 slugging percentage in 32 games for rookie-league Greeneville.

There was talk of a conversion to catcher when Clemens was signed, but he’s playing his high school position of third base at the moment. He’s 9-for-25 in seven games.

It was assumed prior to the draft that Koby would follow in his father’s footsteps and go to the University of Texas. The Astros, though, chose him anyway, and now that they’ve signed him, it seems quite a bit more likely that Roger will stick around for 2006. Still to be determined is whether Koby will be used as a third baseman or a catcher.

The 20-year-old Clemens is batting .257/.375/.403 with five homers and six steals in six attempts. He’s going to have to show the same kind of work ethic as his father if he hopes to make it as a regular third baseman someday.

Clemens got off to a promising start with his coversion to catcher last year, but his production faded as the season waned and he was arrested at the end of August following a bar fight. He was off to a .227/.333/.432 start at high-A Lancaster this season. Since he’s just 22 and he’s still learning a new position, his progress defensively is far more important than what he does with the bat. If he can’t make it as a catcher, it’s doubtful that he’ll have a career.

Clemens and Mark Ori were charged with disorderly conduct, while Jimmy Goethals was charged with assault and battery. All three players were benched for Salem’s game Sunday and the team’s season comes to a close Monday. A 21-year-old catcher, Clemens has hit .268/.369/.423 with seven homers and a 99/61 K/BB ratio in 109 games at Single-A.