Cleveland reliever Clase stuns with triple-digit cutters
Manager Terry Francona didn't want to lock the team's relievers into specific roles early in the season in an effort to ensure no pitchers were overworked and the team could focus on daily matchups. But regardless of when Emmanuel Clase enters the game, his triple-digit cutter is its own highlight.
Clase, the centerpiece to the Corey Kluber trade who missed all of 2020 due to a suspension, has allowed two baserunners (a walk and an infield single) while striking out six of the 13 batter he's faced in his first four appearances entering Monday's game.
But aside from the effectiveness has been the electricity he's brought to the mound with his cutter, which has averaged a borderline ridiculous 100.6 mph. Armed with that cutter and a slider in the low 90s, Clase hasn't fooled around with many hitters.
“I love the way he attacks,” Francona said on a Zoom call. “I think I made a comment in spring training that he may have thrown too many strikes. And if that's a problem, we can deal with that. But no, he's been fun to get to know. We didn't get to know him that well last year. This year has been fun. His future and present is really bright.”
On Friday, Clase threw 11 pitches at least 100 mph and earned his first of two saves. All other Cleveland pitchers in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008) combined to throw 14, according to Sarah Langs of mlb.com (Danny Salazar 8, Blake Wood 4, Austin Adams 2).
Clase threw 12 cutters Friday night. The slowest, which is certainly a relative term, clocked in at 99.9 mph. He topped out at 101.2 mph. In Wednesday's game, Clase hit 100 mph with all nine cutters, his fastest being 101.3 (twice).
Those kinds of numbers flashing tend to draw some extra crowd reaction.
“Yeah, I do notice it [the crowd reacting, but I don't pay too much attention because my focus is on the hitter and trying to staying as best as I can on the mound,” Clase said through a team translator on a Zoom call. “Sometimes I notice it, but my focus is with the hitter.”
Clase said in spring camp he views himself as a closer and would like to be in that role. For now, Francona hasn't committed to one closer and instead wants to play the matchup game on a nightly basis, which can help maintain workloads.
Eventually, it's certainly possible that Clase settles into a ninth-inning role, with James Karinchak and Nick Wittgren handling the higher-leverage situations in earlier innings. Or, Cleveland could use Clase's military-grade cutter in different situations to try to maximize the leverage.
“The team was really clear with the message of how it's going to be divided between the three of us and just to be ready for the fifth inning,” Clase said. “Once the fifth inning comes, I start doing my stretching and getting loose but that's what the team tells us to prepare for.”