The box score numbers for Denzel Clarke have been terrific in his first week with Las Vegas, but his batted ball data tells a different story.
A's centerfielder Denzel Clarke has been out of action for the team since April 22 when he landed on the IL with a mid-foot bone bruise in his right foot. After months on the shelf, Clarke is working his way back to the roster, getting extended time with Triple-A Las Vegas.
Athletics manager Mark Kotsay has said that the progression itself will resemble one that a player goes through in spring training.
After one week, the numbers have looked good. Clarke is 6-for-13 (.462) with a .563 OBP, a home run, five RBI, three walks, and four strikeouts. Those are all elements that the A's would love to see from his game. The big downside here is that he has a .600 BABIP, which is insanely high.
While he's batting .462, he's also striking out at a 25% clip during this hot streak. That's roughly in line with the 22.2% strikeout rate he held in 32 games with Las Vegas last season.
Here is what each of his batted balls has looked like during this stretch in Triple-A.
| Date | Exit Velo | Launch Angle | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8/18 | 97.9 mph | 20 degrees | Lineout |
| 8/19 | 83.8 mph | -3 degrees | Groundout |
| 8/19 | 108.7 mph | 1 degree | Single |
| 8/19 | 110.8 mph | 11 degrees | Single |
| 8/21 | 62.5 mph | -66 degrees | Single |
| 8/21 | 88.1 mph | -10 degrees | Single |
| 8/21 | 106.7 mph | 1 degree | Single |
| 8/23 | 94.9 mph | 33 degrees | Home Run |
| 8/23 | 88.9 mph | -37 degrees | Groundout |
Obviously there is a lot to be optimistic about here, like those three exit velocities well above 100 mph. That's showing that his timing is in a good spot, even with the long layoff.
At the same time, two of those hard hit balls had launch angles of one degree, and ended up as hits through the infield. That may not be the same case in the big leagues, where the defenses are fine-tuned and the gloves tend to be better.
In essence, two of the batted balls had what we're looking for from a launch angle perspective (11 degrees and 20 degrees), even though the home run came at a higher mark. That 33 degree launch angle home run is more the exception than the norm, especially for a ball hit under 95 miles per hour.
The reason these things are what we're looking at is that Clarke's big-league launch angles have come out to 4.1 (with a 90 mph exit velocity) last season and a 2.6 launch angle (with a 91.9 mph exit velocity) this season.
Of course, this isn't to say that Clarke will never get there in this rehab stint, but more to just give context to the initial numbers that you see when looking at the box score stats. He's making good contact and has even dumped one over the fence, but he's still hitting the ball into the ground a fair amount.
For now, the fact that he made it through his first week is a positive sign. When he is deemed ready to return to the A's lineup, it will be a big test for Clarke to carve out a role for himself in 2027, now that Henry Bolte has seemingly overtaken him in center.
