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Top Prospect Alert - Clint Nageotte

By Schuyler Dombroske

DOB: 10-25-80, Age: 20, Height: 6’4’’, Weight: 190, Bats: R, Throws: R. Acquired: Drafted By Mariners in 5th Round of 1999 Draft (Brooklyn HS, OH).

^{2000 Stats: (Arizona Mariners - Rookie) 4-1, 2.16 ERA, 50 IP, 29 H, 28 BB, 59 K. 2001 Stats: (Wisconsin - Low-A) 10-7, 3.44 ERA, 133 IP, 127 H, 44 BB, 160 K.}

^{Clint Nageotte is yet another young, powerful arm that the Mariners have generated in the past few seasons. Nageotte is about a year behind the rest of the high school pitchers from the 1999 draft, due to a late signing in ’99 and some personal issues that delayed the start of his 2000 campaign. This hasn’t hampered his performance, however, as he has struck out 219 hitters in his first 183 pro innings, and is leading the Midwest League in that category this season. He has allowed only 9 home runs over this period, and has only issued 72 free passes, (approximately 3.5 per nine innings) two very good signs for a young power pitcher.}

^{Nageotte has two plus pitches: a low-90’s fastball and a hard curveball. He is developing a change, but it is not up to the caliber of his power arsenal just yet. He has shown the ability to pitch inside effectively, hitting 12 batters versus those nine homers allowed, and has greatly improved his command this season, going from 5.0 BB/9 in ’99 to 3.0 this season. Nageotte’s biggest problem is the depth of the Mariners’ system. Garcia, Piniero, Anderson, Meche, Heaverlo, and Soriano are all better prospects at this point, and Aaron Sele could very easily still be in Seattle three or four years from now. Nageotte would have to surpass three of them to obtain a rotation slot, and that should prove to be a pretty tall order for him. I actually wouldn’t be surprise to see him included in a trade sometime in the next season or two. Nageotte could be a mid-rotation starter by 2004 for many teams, but probably not for the M’s. I would expect to see him at San Bernardino next season, with a possible promotion during the year to San Antonio, performance permitting. It is very unlikely, no matter how well he pitches, that the Mariners will rush him past Heaverlo or Soriano.}

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