There will only ever be one Clayton Kershaw but the Dodgers did sign another Clayton on January 17. They had previously selected left-hander Clayton Andrews in the 40th round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft but he didn’t sign. He did so with the Brewers in 2018.
The new Clayton on the block is 24-year-old infielder Clayton Daniel. He was acquired from the Cubs in a trade for right-hander Casey Sadler who became the odd-man out with the Dodgers even though he pitched quite well for them during the 2019 season.
Daniel had been selected by the Cubs in the 31st round of the 2018 June Draft and has spent two seasons in their minor league system playing 70 games at second base, 10 at third base and 30 at shortstop.
He was born in Guntersville, Alabama and attended Guntersville High School before signing on with Jacksonville State University.
Daniel – in terms of baseball players – is perhaps best described as diminutive at 5’7”/170-lb. That would put his stature in the company of second basemen Dustin Pedroia and Jose Altuve. That is not to suggest he has the talents of those two all-star second baseman, but simply that baseball is a big man’s game that can be played very successfully by smaller men. To date, Clayton Daniel has done just that.
He departs Jacksonville State as the school’s and the Ohio Valley Conference’s career hits leader with 330 as well as being the career leader with 69 doubles in both his school and the conference. He also is the all-time leader in career at-bats at Jacksonville with 955.
During his senior year, Daniel batted .325 with 52 runs, 83 hits, 22 doubles, one triple, two homers, 28 RBIs, 28 walks and only 10 strikeouts in 255 at-bats. During his four-year college career, he walked 113 times while striking out 63.
He also left his mark on the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League in the summer of 2017 being named to the CCBL All-League Team while finishing ninth in the league with a .316 batting average. He accumulated 55 hits over a 44-game schedule and had multiple hits in 12 contests closing out the season with an 11-game hit streak. Among his 13-extra base hits was a team-leading 10 doubles. He struck out but 12 times in 198 plate appearances.
Naturally, he watched the 2018 June Draft with interest not knowing what might happen for sure. What he did know for sure was that since he was about 10-years-old he dreamed of playing baseball professionally.
“My ultimate dream is to play in the big leagues,” he said. “God has blessed me with the opportunity of a life“time to go and fulfill that dream, and hopefully I will take advantage of it the best I can.”
Dreams don’t always come true but Daniel had been given a bit of a heads up by Cubs area scout, Alex McClure, that the Cubs could draft him. He was still a bit surprised his name was called but grateful that the Cubs thought enough of him to draft him.
“I saw my name on the draft tracker,” Daniel said. “I was keeping up with it by that. I saw my name pop up and I was shocked at first, kind of at a loss for words.
“I’m truly grateful for the Cubs organization for drafting me and believing in me that I could get there and do the job. I’m truly grateful for the opportunity they’ve provided me with.”
One wonders what the Cubs saw in the 5’7”/170-lb college senior. The response from his high school coach highlights one of those characteristics that the Dodgers value so much. His Guntersville High School coach Kenny Chaffin had this to say:
“This guy never stops working. I’ve never seen anything like him. So many great stories on him.”
“I’ll never forget after we won the [Class 4A] State championship in 2012. He pitched well over 100 pitches, we didn’t get in that morning until like 3 a.m. and late that afternoon he was back on the field taking groundballs.”
“The guy never stops. A highly driven competitor blessed with enormous baseball talent and high character. That’s about as good as I can describe Clayton Daniel.”
Perhaps this report from his 2018 season in the Cubs system helps us even more to see what they saw.
Clayton Daniel – A 31st round pick out of Jacksonville State, Daniel is already on his third level of the system in the past two weeks. He dominated the Arizona Rookie League at the plate, hitting .370, and then he made short work of Eugene in just seven games. He arrived last Wednesday in Davenport to play for South Bend. Over the next six games, I watched Daniel show excellent bat-to-ball skills as he has sprayed the ball all over the Quad Cities and Kane County. He can easily execute the hit-and-run in classic fashion, as he did on Sunday hitting into the vacated hole raising his average to a stellar .417 at that point. With an impressive hitting floor, he also comes across as one of the more mature players in the system.
And then there is this.
“I can play anywhere I’m asked to,” Daniel said. “If they ask me to play catcher, I will. If they ask me to go to the outfield, I will. It doesn’t really matter to me.
“You keep setting new goals and you always try to achieve them, because you become a better player by doing that. After my sophomore year, I set the goal of most hits because that’s when I really realized I might have a shot. Going into my senior year, I knew I really had a good shot at doing that.” He did set that hits record as his 330 hits eclipsed the 323 previously set by Jacksonville State Gamecock Bert Smith from 2006-10.
During the 2019 season Daniel played at two levels – A South Bend Cubs, AA Tennessee Smokies – hitting equally well at each level with a triple slash of .305/.397/402 while striking out 29 times and walking 34 times in 281 plate appearances.
Having played four years of college ball, he is older and will turn 25 in May. It seems likely he will start the season with the AA Tulsa Drillers although a short term assessment placement with the A+ Rancho Cucamonga Quakes might also be his introduction to Dodger baseball.
Discussion (57)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I don’t know this site, nor its writers.
BUT it does have a fresh look at the Dodgers prospect pool:
https://www.prospectslive.com/lists/2020/1/20/dodgers-2020-top-30-prospects
Daniel – AC is more equipped to answer that question but I do not think there is a limit in terms of total numbers.
There are limits at each level but other ways to store players.
For minor league rosters according to MiLB.
AAA -25 active players
AA – 25 active players
A+ – 25 active players (35 players under control on roster)
A – 25 active players (35 players under control on roster)
Rookie (Pioneer League) – 35 players on active roster
AZL – 35 players on active roster. Dodgers have two teams
DSL – 35 players on active roster. Dodgers have two teams
The bigger numbers are at the entry levels. I don’t think most teams would have the developed players to compete effectively at the higher levels, certainly not above Class-A. I am sure in terms of numbers there is a point of diminished returns.
Does anyone know if there is a limit to how many minor leaguers an organization can have?
Could an organization keep adding minor league teams to increase how many prospects they controlled?
Funny you should mention Clayton Andrews at the beginning of this article. Similar to CD, CA is 5’6″. During the off-season CA, a two-way prospect, played on the Glendale Desert Dogs team along with his former Cabrillo College teammate, Brett de Geus (LAD 33rd selection in the 2017 First-Year Player draft). He then went to Japan with TEAM USA in their unsuccessful Olympic bid followed with his recent attendance at the Rookie Career Development Program. Size definitely doesn’t matter. While Clayton Andrews is a loss for the Dodgers, IMO he would not have experienced the same level of success as he has had in the less deep Brewers organization.
To scratch my itch and become more familiar with the players repeatedly mentioned on this site, I have spent the off-season watching 2019 games on MiLBTV (might as well since I paid for a 1 year subscription). Last night I watched Clayton Daniels in a game against the Great Lake Loons. I can’t wait for the 2020 season to see how the story continues for many of these talented players.
Count me in for this party!
Talk with the Fab Five and set a date!
This will help Mark. Drinks on Mark!!!!!!!!!!
We should do a Dodgertalk Dodger game some day. That would be fun!
Just left .Rutherfords Grille in Napa and the food was not as good as in past. I may not go back for the food… but I would go back for the company. Jeff Dominique (AC) and his wife were a delight. This is the first time we have met in person, but I feel like I have known them all my life !
Clayton Daniel seems like a fine young man. Sort of a Drew Jackson type player. Hope he makes it to the bigs.
I didn’t get a chance to comment on AD’s previous article. I agree 100% on his assessment of the minor league system.
And I agree that while I’m 100% supportive of who AD has tagged as untouchable, we really do need to leverage the depth in the system for the right trade. I’m just not convinced that trade has presented itself.
I will add, DJ Peters is a unique player in the system. We need a RH bat and he has the combination of power, incredible athleticism for his size and solid makeup. Given the lack of alternatives in the system, I can’t imagine the Dodgers trading him unless it involves a RH outfielder with a decent amount of team control (not a rental, like Betts). He may be an all or nothing type of prospect. But giving him a legit shot in show is worth that risk. At least IMHO. Watching his at bats he’s not your typical strikeout machine. He has a good approach. Goes deep into counts. But still strikes out a ton. Which is why I think they believe the strikeout issue is less important than with other players. I see Joey Gallo type of potential but more value on defense. Peters athleticism, approach and power might still play on the MLB level even with the crazy strikeouts.
And yes, Jeren Kendall is worth the effort. He’s an amazing athlete and a great kid. He just can’t identify pitches. His power is effortless. But his inability to recognize breaking pitches is not just a problem, it’s devastating. He will destroy a mistake. But he can’t develop an effective MLB level approach at the plate if he can’t recognize spin. It’s been hard to watch for two seasons. Because I’d love to see the guy figure it out.
Lastly, I’m not as a high on Jeter Downs as many are. He has a pile of talent. But for all the reasons I like Lux, Amaya and Vargas; I find deficient in Downs. I don’t like speaking negatively of our own players. So I often just follow the “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it at all” rule. He’s not terribly, well,…. personable. That’s not to say he doesn’t have MLB level talent. But he was not a fan favorite in Rancho. Largely because the fans were not his favorite. I’ll leave it at that. Gray was the big catch in that trade, IMHO.
But I 100% agree with AC’s assessment. The Dodgers do need to leverage their prospects. Especially the ones that look to be blocked from natural progression.
Personally, I think Downs and Ruiz would be compelling prospects to other teams. And I don’t think trading either or both would alter the near term plans.
Out of curiosity, what exactly are alternative facts?
I agree that a two-year playoff ban would have been appropriate. They do that in college sports. This is a major cheating scandal. The punishment is laughably minor. The Astros lose four draft picks, and their manager and GM were suspended for a year each. And then the $5 million fine which is far less than the value of winning the championship was to the ownership.
The problem is basically with the nature of professional sports. They are there to make money for the owners. The players’ unions, particularly in baseball, have managed to gain power. That is for the players, to make more money and to have more rights. Nowhere are the fans considered, except to the extent that pro sports does need fans to go to the games. But they always have, so that is not a major concern.
To essentially say, “Well, this is very bad, this ongoing cheating which involved many players, the manager, the general manager; so we are going to show how bad it was by doing nothing to the players, doing virtually nothing to the future of the franchise, and then act virtuous about it,” is an embarrassment. It is a clique of owners who are making many hundreds of millions off the sport; many players signing contracts worth tens of millions or more; and none of them wants to lose any of this. So MLB pretends that they are really showing the fans that they deplore cheating, when actually they are almost encouraging it by this ruling. Why doesn’t MLB grill the players and the clubhouse people, find out exactly how bad this was, and then tell the fans? I can barely imagine how a team could cheat worse than this. Players who take steroids might lose 80 games, an entire team which found illegal ways to give themselves a major game advantage, loses no games collectively or individually, and has the right and very possibly the ability to win another title next year. Might as well look for another way to cheat, it doesn’t cost you much. I am so tempted to draw comparable analogies to political elections, but I’ll just say that “win by any method” has become far too pervasive in all areas.
Thanks DC for the update on Clayton Daniel, really didn’t know much about him.
Interesting column in today’s LA Times by LZ Granderson, who talks about the Astros cheating scandal. Pretty good perspective.
He calls the denial by Jim Crane “comical” which I tend to agree with since a number of in-depth articles described the off the rails win at all cost culture. All those articles came out before the Athletic broke the cheating scandal so Crane would have to live in a cave not to be aware that there were serious issues.
Then to Jose Altuve’s recent comments about the social media “buzzer” questions, saying it was “ridiculous” that people on social media questioned whether the Astros wore buzzers.
Altuve added, “I have two options. One is cry or one is to go out there and play the game to help my team.”
But Granderson points out there is the “third option, of course: admit fault and express the need to vacate the title.”
He added, “Of course, that takes strength. And the one thing we’ve all learned in this that strength —- character strength —- is a scare commodity.”
While I seriously doubt that Rob Manfred would vacate the title, I honesty think he should.
Apparently there is a growing number of players in baseball who think the players who participated in the sign stealing should indeed be punished, which probably means most of the roster, I don’t think that is likely to happen.
First, I don’t think the union would agree and it probably doesn’t matter what the membership thinks. Think back to the steroid issues and the union kept tap dancing around it ignoring the calls by growing numbers of players to test and create penalties. It took a near player rebellion for the union to act.
Second, I think Manfred and owners want to prevent any confrontation with players and the union as they move toward a new agreement. There is already friction on a variety of issues and the union is going to come hard to end up the “cap” and penalties in order to generate more spending by big market teams.
Giving the Dodgers the title would seem hollow and if I’m ownership or the front office, I wouldn’t want it. What is done is done. But for the Astros and their players this isn’t going away. You crossed lines that never should be crossed. You cheated, lied and disgraced the game. All of you need to admit what you did, explain in full and make a public apology. Whatever abuse that comes your way on social media is well deserved. Hopefully at every stadium you play in thousands will chant Chea-Ters. You need to wear that shame, for it will never be forgiven or forgotten.
I’ve been thinking about the Dodgers offense in the future, specifically 2022.
I think Friedman should extend Pederson ASAP. I also think Friedman should have a conversation with Justin Turner about his future as a Dodger and try to come to an agreement that once Kody Hoese arrives (most likely 2022) that Turner will be mainly a pinch hitter on the team going forward with occasional starts at 3B to give Hoese some days off and therefore Friedman should extend Turner.
I’m pessimistic about the chances Seager gets extended because of his impatient approach at the plate and that his agent is Scott BorASS. That is not a good combination.
So when looking at 2022 I would like to see an offense that looks like this:
Outfield: Verdugo, DJ Peters, Pederson/Pollock platoon.
1B: Bellinger
2B: Muncy
SS: Lux
3B: Hoese
C: Smith/Ruiz
Bench:
One of Pederson/Pollock
One of Smith/Ruiz
Turner
Beaty
An open spot for someone.
I can see 60/65% of the above as locks for 2022, the other 35/40% depends on Friedman and the players involved.
I had some time on my hands and had the Dodgers on my mind.
The Astros cheated and Manfred is not going to do anything to the cheating players, the only way Manfred is going to act against those players is for the players on the other teams to petition Manfred to do something and that will not happen. The Astro players cheated their way to a WS title and I guess they are going to get away with it, Holding the managers and general managers responsible is the easy way out, and Manfred took it.
So, MLB.com ranked the 1B and guess who was #2? Max Muncy!
If you suspend all the players then that hurts all,the teams they play. Who wants to watch the Astros JV team when they come to your stadium? MLB should strip them of the title, ban them from 2 years of any international signings and a two year playoff ban. I agree with Brooklyn about awarding the title to Dodgers
On another subject, shudder, hockey, DC are you familiar with the story of the Sackville, NS youth hockey team that withdrew from a big tournament because competitor Tyne Valley, PEI’s rink was totally destroyed by fire. It seemed to me they gave the Tyne Vly team a better chance to win and capture the money award. Is Sackville near you? This story gave me such a good feeling.
Mark, I can’t disagree with your stand. At the very least their title needs to be vacated. Same for Boston if their investigation comes up with similar results. Still can’t see giving the title to the Dodgers. To me, it would ring kind of hollow.
Suspending the entire roster for 81 games is fine with me, or some variation.
I like this Clayton Daniel and hope he does well. With his work ethic it sounds like he will and become an asset to the Dodgers. Where did they assign him to DC? Thank you for the article on him.
Clayton Daniel could be one of those guys who keep grinding and finally get to the Show. I hope so.
I talked with a “source” inside the game who believes that Bregman, Altuve, Reddick, and Springer “absolutely” cheated with buzzers taped to their chest. He says that lots of people know it too. Getting them to talk is the problem…
I think even Ray Charles can see that.
I have come to the conclusion that the Astros title should be vacated and given to the Dodgers. The ASStericks likely cheated the Yankees too, but in the final series they did cheat the Dodgers and therefore the Dodgers are default winners. I think that is absolutely what should happen. I also think the entire roster of 2017 should be suspended for 81 games. Minor leaguers can fill in.
Take a stand!
I read this morning that Altuve and Bregman expressed an interest in “moving forward” from the sign stealing scandal. I bet they are. Good luck with that.