The Book on Clayton Kershaw

Prospect Info

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Clayton Kershaw
Born 3/19/1988
LHP, LAD

He spent most of his young career being compared to his neighbor Kyle Drabek, but Kershaw is respectable in his own right. A tall southpaw with a long, smooth delivery, Kersh impresses scouts with his work ethic, and he projects as a good middle-of-the-rotation innings-eater in the near future. He's probably behind Scott Elbert, but not by much once you factor in Elbert's detour through rehab.

A power curve is his out pitch, and while Dodger coaches would dearly love to see a third pitch, he may not need one, especially if his future is in medium relief, which is where he's now penciled in for the short term. While expecting Kershaw to arrive in 2008 is a little optimistic, LA is known to bring up a lot of pitchers during the year, if only for a look.

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Player Updates and Notes

After a disappointing month, the L.A. Dodgers sent pitcher Clayton Kershaw to all the way back to double-A Jacksonville today. Kershaw made eight starts, posted a 4.42 ERA and failed to win a single decision. He's pretty clearly not ready yet, and the player who looked like a sure thing not long ago will now be fighting for a rotation spot next year.

7/2/2008 by KDaddy

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Clay Kershaw racked up another no decision in his fourth start of the year last night, lasting 5 1/3 innings against the Padres and giving up 2 runs. The young lefty is 0-1 with a mediocre 4.50 ERA and 19 strikeouts, but the most troubling number is the 13 walks he's given up in 20 innings. Other than his first start, when he struck out seven and walked only one, he's issued four free passes in each successive outing. He'll need to harness his breaking ball if he's going to reach the next level any time soon.

6/11/2008 by KDaddy

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Clayton Kershaw looked great in his MLB debut last night, holding the Cardinals to only two runs while strikeing out seven and walking one. He struggled early, throwing 32 pitches in the first inning, but the Cards got slap happy after than and made it easy for Kershaw by swinging at anything near the strike zone. If teams learn to lay off his wilder offerings, they should have an easier time dealing with the promising youngster, but as long as they're willing to chase balls in the dirt, Kershaw should have some success early.

5/26/2008 by KDaddy

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Clayton Kershaw was pulled from his Jacksonville start after just one inning last night. There was no good reason for this, but the odd timing suggests that he might make a quick trip up for a surprise start in Los Angeles on Saturday. He's really not ready, but the Dodgers could use an injection of excitement in what's been a disappointing season so far.

5/23/2008 by KDaddy

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Clay Kershaw returned to AA Jacksonville's rotation on Monday, but he's not finding any more success there than he was in the bullpen. Kershaw gave five runs in just 3.1 innings of work, leaving him 0-3 so far this season. While the desperate Dodgers are still considering giving him a spot L.A. start in the next week or two, the so-called 'best pitching prospect in the National League' pretty clearly needs more time than expected if he's going to reach any kind of potential. He also needs to learn a third pitch.

5/13/2008 by KDaddy

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After mowing down three Red Sox in his first inning of spring work, Clay Kershaw has been promoted to big-league camp. He'll stay with the club for the rest of March, with an eye to landing a bullpen role.

3/10/2008 by KDaddy

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The signing of Japanese All-Star Kuroda knocks Kershaw back one more spot on the depth chart, making him less likely for 2008.

12/16/2007 by BallGrrrl

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