Clayton Kershaw

All I know is that I heard Andrew Miller was going straight to High A ball or maybe even Double A. That could be wrong but I think I heard that while watching the CWS.

Clayton Kershaw has really looked good for Gulf Coast Dodgers Rookie team here in Vero.

The way most MLB teams operate is seasoned college draftees/signees in regards to pitchers are usually placed in Short season A ball or straight to reg long season A ball. Different players or placed in different leagues. Each individual case can be and usually is different according to round, needs, urgency to promote, slots available... etc.

In Clayton's case, I would dare venture to say that the Top Brass are in no hurry to rush a "Just Drafted HS Prospect" through minor league system without first having the player further develop with assistance of professional pitching coaches and instructors in farm system.

A perfect example for the LA Dodgers is LHP and 2004 Top HS Prospect, Scott Elbert, who was drafted in first round of 2004 draft. He started in rookie ball, just like Kershaw, moved his way up to Low A which is the Columbus Catfish the next season(2005) where he excelled and was named top prospect of the entire SAL LEAGUE. Currently Elbert is pitching high A ball here in FL STATE LEAGUE and showing signs of ready for any and all levels above this level. Which includes AA JAX SUNS, AAA LAS VEGAS and ultimately the BIGS(LA). In fact, he just fell short of no-hitter just a couple of nights ago, pitched in the All-Star game and at the top of advanced scouts lists who have been flocking in by the droves to see him this season with the help of the timely and excellent reports of the Major League Scouting Bureau who send reports in to all 30 teams on players of interest as well as team reports in professional coverage The bureau plays a huge role in trades, acquisitions, rule 5..etc.
The reports sent out by bureau are used to evaluate and explore these above-mentioned possibilities. Many players will come up in trade talk in the next month based on a cumulative evaluation of all these reports which are also sent in by individual major league clubs and their pro coverage advanced scouts as well as bureau pro coverage scouts. The deadline is July 31st at midnight or I guess you can say Aug 1st 12:00 01secs-AM. Hope this sheds a little daylight on the subject and glad to share this cumulative knowledge through 15 years of hands-on experience. Peace, Shep

I will try and make Clayton's next start and report back to you guys out there in the big state of Texas. Peace, Shep

Thanks, Shep. You're one of the good guys.

Shep,

You have a private message.

Scoupe,

Back at cha bro!

DBAT,

You're the Man!

Everybody,

Clayton's next start will be Thursday according to LA personnel I spoke with at Vero game tonight. They are working extremely hard and it's simply amazing watching a Director of Scouting getting right out there with his players and sweating side by side during instruction. Logan White is a great asset to the LA Dodgers. Enjoyed speaking with him and seeing him today! Peace, Shep

Thanks Shep... Great info

Good Morning To The Great State of Texas and Board!

Clayton will be pitching in Jupiter today against Marlins GCL Team. He should get at least a couple of innings of work.

I would like to apologize in advance but I will be unable to make the trip this morning but will be able to get second hand report tonight at Vero/Palm Beach FL STATE LEAGUE game from LA representatives.

Terry Collins and Logan White as well as a long list of instructors are down here in Vero working very hard with these "mostly" young prospects and I can assure all, these guys are in the best of care Tommy Lasorda is also in FL at current time and LHP Scott Elbert just got promoted to AA JAX SUNS yesterday afternoon and will get his first start there SAT night. These hard-throwing left handed pitchers do get promoted in LA's organization They will develop player to maximum potential and groom him to that point though but I do look for Clayton to move up the ladder in the immediate seasons to come and look forward to monitoring his progress for you guys and gals! I'll get back to board on update tonight after Vero/Palm Beach game. Have a good day! Peace, Shep

Wow! Is this fun to observe, or what?

quote:

Originally posted by FormerObserver:
Wow! Is this fun to observe, or what?

Yes it is very exciting!

Shep, No apologies needed. Looking forward to your update.

Update on Kershaw

Pitched 3 innings giving up only 2 hits struck out 5, no walks, no runs allowed.. Game was suspended by rain and lightning in the 8th tied 3-3.. It was 100 degrees and raining. That must SUCK!!
I'm sure you got some better stuff on the game than what I found Shep..

Here's what I heard second-hand at Vero/Cards FL STATE LEAGUE game tonight. Everything that Johnnie LeMaster just said and he cruised in lower 90s touching 93-94 on several fastballs with very effective breaking pitches. This came from avid fan and not LA personnel as I had hoped but this guy sees every Dodger game around these parts he can and huddles around the stalker guns when I see him so the readings are prolly correct or very close! Peace, Shep

So I'm curious, what are the Dodgers going to try and develop? Do they want more speed, or better off-speed stuff? I always hear how they mold a pitcher, but how? I'm betting you can answer this with ease.

Well, I will first assume this is directed towards me It is very difficult to speak for a team I am not employed by because there are so many things they do that I don't have a clue about. They have there own secret recipe with a patent and they might have to dust me off if I steal there secrets-LOL Just Kidding, besides I'm a hitter.

Okay, I'll give it my best effort in condensed version because if you get me started, I could write a book because there are so many variables involved in the creation of a Major League Pitcher.

#1 (Maintain and/or increase body/arm Strength.) In-season and off-season may vary. Come up with a baseball related strengthening program not involving heavy weights, but rather, more flexibility and agility involved with a great deal of emphasis on lower body, and center body. Tubing for arm strength and shoulder capsule.

#2 (Establish Primary and secondary pitches.) Pitcher must learn his limits and apply trial-by-error philosophy with all pitches from appearance to appearance. I like to explain this by saying>
Crawl before you walk, walk before you run! Experiment with grips and arm slots.

#3 (Establish Good Working Relationship with Coaches, Teammates and Instructors.) Listen, learn and apply! Gain as much knowledge as possible from all of those around you! Reach out, let them know you appreciate their suggestions, experience and knowledge! Invite them to dinner! Your treat on the town at nice restaurant, or cook for them. I used to like cooking collards, baked barbeque chicken, with homemade pan cornbread to top it all off. Maybe a publix apple pie to boot, occasionally.

#4 (Watch other pitchers closely when charting pitchers at games to see what works and what doesn't with certain hitters. Know you're hitters! This can save you a run or two on ERA.) Make friends with someone who has a lot of film of different hitters!

#5 (Don't get too anxious about anything and take the game one day at a time and don't push front office or management.) They prolly know better than you, or me, what's best for you, and most importantly, what stage of development you're at.

#6 (Stay closely on schedule in rotation and establish excellent work ethic along the way.)
You should want to get that edge at all times!
Sacrifice those nights out and go to the videoanaylsis quarters, or gym. I used to like to swim a mile on Friday night at an indoor health club and work on wrists, forearms and hand strength on Sat. night in the off-season.
Be creative! Different strokes for different folks. You know what got you there...Take advantage of the things available to you to better yourself even more. Embrace the facilities and various instructors.

#7 (Get PLENTY OF REST and STAY ON AN ALL-AMERICAN DIET with plenty of veggies carbs and "all" food groups. GET YOUR RECOVERY SLEEP!!! Worked for me!!!

#8 (Be a student of the game at all times!) This seperates average from great! If you want to rise above the rest, you gotta do something different and more advanced.

#9 (Have your priorties in line and don't leave family out of loop!) Call them at least once a week to give them updates and tell them you love them.

#10 (Enjoy every minute and be happy in your job! It's a gift to do what you love doing playing baseball and making a living doing it at the same time.) Feel Blessed and Worthy at the same time!

Oh well, that's just the tip of the iceberg my friend, and thank you for asking for my input

Peace, Shep

There 1st order of concern is to make sure Kershaw and ALL their young pitchers can have a delivery that works for them properly by being able to consistently repeat it. This will help them reduce the chance for injury and also help the pitcher learn how to better command his fastball. In HS you can throw in the middle of the zone with success but in pro ball 93-94 can get turned around when its in the middle to much. So a repeatable delivery helps a pitcher throw the ball in and out when he wants to.

At this point they just wanta limit his work load and get him through the rest of summer then bring him back in for some instructional work in the fall when all the brass will be in there from Grady (Manager) on down.

As he dominates hitters at the level he is at he will be moved to the next level. Its also important to let a player feel some success and know what that feels like.

Good post Shep!

Shep,

One of the most impressive and factual posts I've read.

Nice job.

Thank you Ken for the compliment

Here we go>UPDATE ON LHP CLAYTON KERSHAW

Clayton looked really good today in GCL game head-up against Colton Willems who just signed with NATS.

Clayton threw in the 90-93MPH range with FBs hitting 94MPH once. CK worked FBs in-and-out hitting spots and keeping ball low, for the most part. His secondary pitches looked good at times with hitters chasing sharp breaking slurves with tight spin and late break. The humidity is really high here at noon during the hottest part of the day here in FL opposed to the dry heat out west so all pitchers are having problems with grips at times but this "outside variable and factor" doesn't seem to affect the overall performance of Clayton Kershaw even though a few breaking pitches were left up a bit. He pitches smart and hits his spots. He left a couple up a little that got hit but most FBs were just too much for the GCL NATS( ) hitters to catch up with. His FB looked really fast after CK had established a few secondary breaking pitches for us scouts present at game. Scoupe, I happened to be behind the plate after coming down from press box after game and bumped into Clayton. I introduced myself and had a good chat and told him his uncle was asking about him, he said with a smile and I quote, "you mean my Uncle Doug?" I then said your last name and that made his day, and mine I promised this update so here it is. I also posted update in professional forum at PG messageboard under, Gotta See 'em Shepster!
I post all my scouting updates and information there as well on a daily basis on all that I see with my own two eyes with an occasional secondary source mention. It's difficult to be in two places at once but the GCL schedule is good because those games are early. I will defintely make some more of them and grateful just to have this opportunity to report to all you good folks back in the great state of TX! peace, Shep
7/17/06 TIME: 11:11PM EDT UPDATED RESPONSE ON SCOUPE'S POST AFTER THIS POST That is the HIGHEST compliment a man can receive on the face of this earth in that next post Scoupe and I thank you sir and you SHALL have as many updates as I can possibly get! YOUR NEPHEW IS A GREAT PERSON AND A GREAT PROSPECT!!!

Shep,

You ARE a prince among men.

Thank you so vey much!

Thanks for the update Shep. Always enjoy your posts.

Thank goodness someone posted, I started to get worried.

Los Angeles Dodger LHP-Clayton Kershaw "CK" continues to shine down here in the GCL with 11 strikeouts in 6 complete innings allowing no earned runs and not even "1" free pass(BB).

Bet Mr Colletti, who I finally had the pleasure of meeting today in Vero, was pretty darn impressed himself with this solid performance.

Timing is everything and the "Powers that Be" certainly had the planets aligned for this effort today in front of the LA "BOSS"

Good for TX and good for one who I feel in my observations and conversations with this summer before, after and during GCL games, is most deserving person in Clayton Kershaw. He is worth every bit of whatever LA gave him and more. He is the most! peace, Shep

March 25th, 2007

Clayton Kershaw was recognized today in front of a packed house @ Holman Stadium in Dodgertown.

He was selected as organizational Rookie of the Year among other great accomplishments for the 2006 season. Thought I better post the clip I took today here as well in case scoupe has e-mail alert for this thread only Enjoy my friends! Award Ceremony before game>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLCS06QzdEs

Awesome congratulations

Update for the HSBBW messageboard and to the Great State of Texas.

I have an update of baseball-biblical proportions to report tonight in light of a 19 yr. old rookie breaking through the walls of scheduled player development into realm of existence seldom seen by "any other professional prospect". I am here to attest, with an eyewitness account, that Clayton Kershaw has broken all barriers of normality by leap-frogging many organizational prospects with a confirmed invitation to the Big League Club, the Los Angeles Dodgers, for the remainder of spring training, with the distinct possibility of becoming the fifth starter in the opening day pitching rotation.(Boy O' Boy, that was a mouth full!!!)

Clayton Kershaw arrived today in a huge way in front of a packed house of ten-thousand plus spectators, front and center, against the heart of the batting order of the World Champion, Boston Red Sox. I was there sitting in a press box full of a "Who's Who book of baseball legends". It was lights out for Mike Lowell, JD Drew, and Sean Casey in ten pitches today in Vero Beach, Florida. This was the second outing of Clayton Kershaw following his spring training debut against the NATS earlier this week. In that game, CK struck out the side after allowing a lead-off HR. He hit 97 MPH on 8 pitches in his outing against the NATS earlier this week and about half of his pitches today were in the same range. The 12-6 CB was devastating today and even had the umpire fooled who called a ball on a pitch or two that were both clearly table dropping CBs from the letters to the knees at the plate. This drew oohhhs and aahhhs as the crowd chattered following these phenominal plus pitches in his outing today. In fact, he(CK) created a buzz in the press box that could be heard all across the park with his stunning performance in the LAD 4-0 win against the Red Sox. We all realized the rare opportunity to experience this type of fast-track talent.

Thank you Texas for this great baseball player who defies the odds. He is a very special person who deserves all the best that baseball has to offer. IMHO, after observing many of his pro outings since the 2006 draft. Wow HSBBW!!! I wished you could have been there with me!!! I hope I have written you enough to draw a mental picture of what I had the pleasure of observing this afternoon.
Godspeed and Peace to all, Shep

Woo Hoo!!!!

Way to go Clayton!



Thanks for the update Shepster!

From everything I've heard hes as good a young man as you'll come across.

Best wishes to you Clayton, we sure were happy to see you leave HP.

Looks like Joe is in it to win it !!!

The Dynamic Duo still in Big League Camp.

Ladies and gentlemen from the great state of Texas: Your native son has arrived, front and center, into the hands of a great manager, Joe Torre. He will do the right thing. Here's the story>

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=...ws&fext=.jsp&c_id=la

Wow,

Mr. Kershaw has really impressed the masses.

Good for him. He's a great kid and deserves it.

I'd love to see the smile on his mom's face right now.

I'm already wanting the next round of baseball video games so I can play with him. On "The Show", he is not used.

I hope he continues to have this great success, and he is the reason I wanted Joe Torre to go to LA.

Shepster,
You're the best for keeping us updated! Hope your other ventures are prospering!
Collikar

Thank you Collikar, it's a pleasure and honor to report back to the great state of Texas about CK's progress.

Here's the latest: Kershaw Continues To Impress, Making It Difficult For LADs Management, Concerning Final Roster Decisions !

Here's the boxscore from Clayton's three innings of work today. Enjoy ladies and gentlemen.

All I can say is Ken Guthrie knows talent when he sees it!

Godspeed and Peace,
Shep

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2008_03_25_lanmlb_milmlb_1

quote:

All I can say is Ken Guthrie knows talent when he sees it!

As much as I'd like to take credit I can assure you Clayton was considered a talent long before I had the opportunity to coach him.

I first saw Clayton pitch as a pudgie 15 year old. I had the first opportunity to coach him as a 16 year old.

During my tenure with the DBAT organization, I had the opportunity to work with several very talented arms.

Names like Clayton Kershaw (L.A. Dodgers), Shawn Tolleson (Baylor), Gary Poynter (Lost track, but know he was drafted several times and attended Weatherford Juco), Jordan Walden (Anehiem Angels), Stewart Slakey (Arkansas, Navarro), Mark Cahoon (North Central Juco), Tim Matthews (Baylor), Don Williams (North Central Juco), Zach Britton (Baltimore Orioles) and more.......

As for Clayton, I have one fond memory of him as a youngster.

As a 16 year old, Clayton was your typical lefty personality. Although he was very athletic for his build.

He could be seen in the parking lots of hotels playing hacky sack or other games like a kid in the school yard.

But on the field, he was fierce competitor.

We were in Owasso, Oklahoma for the Mickey Mantle Regional tournament. Clayton had pitched 60-70 pitches on the Friday before the Championship game on Sunday. (Footnote...the DBAT team beat Mr. Walden and the Dallas Knights to advance )

Anyhow, we were playing the Dallas Mustangs to see who would move on to the Mickey Mantle World Series.

It was a tight game until the end and I believe we were up by a run with an inning to play. Clayton was in the dugout pacing and continuously asking me to close out this close contest. Knowing his pitch count the days prior, this day would be his normal bullpen day. We purposely didn't do his bullpen work that day mainly for rest but in the slight chance we would need him for 15-20 pitches.

Anyhow, I really didn't want to throw him but Clayton wouldn't stop. He wanted the ball in a bad way.

So Clayton was given the ball in the 7th and struck out the side in 10 pitches if I remember correctly.

It was quite and exciting moment for our team and myself. I witnessed an extreme competitor right in front of my eyes.

There were times when folks would ask which arm was the best on our team. My response would always be "Now? Or in 5 years". Cade Griffis and I would talk about this and both agreed Clayton had the highest ceiling.

Clayton wasn't the best in his group at the present time, but his projection was off the charts. As shown, he was later the 7th pick of his draft year.

I don't think anyone could predict the extreme success he's having so quickly. It's a tribute to Clayton's determination and God given ability.

He's a great kid and was raised by a loving mother.

I will also remember the nights talking with Merriane Kershaw with her concern about Clayton getting an opportunity to pitch in college.

I don't think they're worrying about that too much now.

It's a pretty rewarding thing as a coach to see the progression our players have made.

When you recieve phone calls from former players years later, it really hits home.

Just the other day I talked to former players Matt Sulentic and Austin Knight. One enjoying the travels of minor league baseball and the other off a Freshman All-American year. It's rewarding to watch all their success.

I wish Mr. Kershaw nothing but success and most of all a healthy career.

Shep, if you get time to say hello to Clayton, tell him hello for me.

I will Ken; however, since the move, you'll probably see him before I will unless the Dodgers do indeed send him to AA, Jacksonville. I quite possibly will see him there, if they send him down.
In my humble opinion, for what it's worth, that would be a mistake by knocking the wings from beneath his sails at this point of his continued success against the best hitters in baseball. Oh well, here's the story straight from the skipper.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080325&conten...s&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
You must be a GREAT COACH KEN GUTHRIE I would have played on your team, any day, sir.
Respectfully,
Shep

quote:

Originally posted by Shepster:

You must be a GREAT COACH KEN GUTHRIE

I wouldn't go that far. Having good baseball guys around you and having kids that care are important.

quote:

I would have played on your team, any day, sir.
Respectfully,
Shep

Well you would be in the minority from the responses of most my posts on here.

Gary Poynter is having a great season for LCU.

quote:

Originally posted by Ken Guthrie:
(Footnote...the DBAT team beat Mr. Walden and the Dallas Knights to advance )

Ouch. Thanks, Gut.

How does that old saying go? If you can't beat 'em......

By the way, on Monday the new and improved Dallas Knights 6U won their first ever game 23-10......looks like I'm not so retired after all.

quote:

Originally posted by PGStaff:

The first time we heard about Clayton Kershaw it came from a man who also posts on here. I believe Kershaw was a soph or junior in HS at the time. I'm not sure if the guy who told us about Kershaw's potential visited here back in those days, but I try to keep close track of people who brag up players. It becomes very important the next time we hear the same person talking about players.

In this case, I found out that this person was someone to trust when it came to evaluating players. I've met many others, some who even post here, that I also trust when they tell us about players. Then there are others who talk and brag about players and when the results are in you realize what happened. Then you don't place a lot of credibility into what they say the next time.

BTW, the first time we ever heard Clayton Kershaw's name associated with being one of the best, the information came from... Ken Guthrie! Ken is sometimes a controversial poster, mostly in the Texas forum. When it comes to evaluating talent he has great credibility as far as I'm concerned. That observation is not based on just this one case, but on every single player he has ever told us about.

Ken - this was recently posted in the general forum. Congrats, that is a nice compliment from a reputable poster.

GM,Heard the 6U Dallas Knights lost a close one tonight 20-17. How were the umpires? Also heard there were two scouts there one with a Stalker and one with a Jugs.

LOS ANGELES -- Southern League hitters must be thrilled at the news that the Dodgers on Sunday sent Clayton Kershaw and his 0.64 ERA back to Double-A Jacksonville.

Manager Joe Torre said he's never sent down a player after a better Spring Training. So Torre's starting rotation must be pretty amazing if he can't make room for the 20-year-old left-handed phenom.

In 14 innings, Kershaw has 19 strikeouts and only three walks, with eight hits allowed after being added to Major League camp three weeks ago. Opponents are batting .160.

Kershaw will be up soon enough. One reason he's not up now is the presence of Japanese import Hiroki Kuroda, who showed why the Dodgers laid out $35.3 million to sign him by pitching even better than Kershaw on Sunday, if that's possible.

Kershaw conceded he struggled briefly with his command after allowing the eighth-inning single because he wasn't used to pitching out of a stretch.

"That was probably my best outing to this point," said Kershaw, who had pitched only five games above low-level Class A coming into Spring Training. "Obviously, I saw this [Minor League assignment] coming. There's just too many good pitchers up here. Any time you don't make a team you're disappointed. But they said they liked what they saw."

Oh, really?

"He's pretty special," said Torre. "We have to keep convincing ourselves to do what's best for the kid. He's just got to get innings pitched."

Torre said the challenge with Kershaw in the season's early months is to give him enough innings to improve while keeping him fresh enough to help the Major League team in the second half of a long season.

Part of the plan is for Kershaw, after making a handful of starts, to spend some time in the bullpen to conserve his arm, a tactic the organization is using with many of their young starters.

Ken Gurnick is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.