Phil Clarke #70

Philip Andrew Clarke...Went to high school at Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville, Tenn...Led the Lions to multiple district, sectional, and regional championships as well as a state championship in 2015...Ranked 166 on Baseball America’s Top 500 coming out of high school...Attended Vanderbilt University...Batted .303 with eight home runs and 68 RBI in 64 games as he helped the Commodores to a College World Series title in 2019...Hit a team-best .360 (9-for-25) in six World Series games...Named American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Third-Team All-American and was named to the Southeastern Conference All-Conference Team...Golfs in his spare time.

2023

Made his second career trip to MLB Spring Training, going 4-for-14 (.286) with a double, a home run and three RBI, logging 15.0 innings behind the plate...Named an MiLB.com Organization All-Star, after spending most of the 2023 campaign at Double-A New Hampshire (69 games) and one appearance at Triple-A Buffalo...Batted .264 (57-for-216) with 10 doubles, six home runs, 18 RBI, 33 walks and a .778 OPS...Made 65 starts behind the plate, logging 569.2 innings with 19 runners caught stealing...Led all Blue Jays Minor League backstops in home runs, also ranking second in OPS.

2022

Spent the entirety of his third Minor League season with Double-A New Hampshire... Played in 77 games, batting .234 with 13 extra-base hits, 33 RBI and a 38BB/44K ratio... Caught 59 games for the Fisher Cats, notching a .993 fielding percentage while throwing out 14 of 99 attempted base stealers.

2021

Spent his 2021 season with High-A Vancouver, appearing in 87 games while batting .248 with 18 doubles, a triple, six home runs, and 48 RBI (.709 OPS)...His 48 RBI were tied for the fourth-most among all High-A catchers.

2020

Spent the season training at The Bledsoe Agency with his teammate at the time, Ryan Noda... Lived with teammate Austin Martin.

2019

Drafted by the Blue Jays in June of 2019 and was assigned to Class-A (short) Vancouver to begin his professional career...Hit .257 with a .359 on-base percentage in 37 games...Threw out nine of 38 stolen base attempts (23.7%)…Named a Northwest League Mid-Season All-Star.

draft

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 45 | Run: 40 | Arm: 45 | Field: 45 | Overall: 45

Clarke had more offensive upside than most of the high school catchers in the 2017 Draft, but the Nashville product resisted seven-figure overtures from big league clubs in order to stay home and attend Vanderbilt. He still is known more for his bat, though he has gotten better behind the plate this spring after spending most of his freshman season at DH. Whether he'll be signable this time around as a sophomore-eligible remains to be seen.

Clarke stands out as a lefty-hitting catcher with the ability to handle the bat. He regularly puts the barrel on the ball, uses the entire field and manages the strike zone well. He has more strength than bat speed and possesses solid raw power, though he's more concerned with making quality contact than swinging for the fences.

If Clarke can continue to improve his defense, he has a chance to become a big league regular. He looks quicker and more agile than he did in high school, though his receiving skills are fringy and need more work. He has similar arm strength but his quick release helps him keep the running game in check.