I give serious thought to the recommendations I make each week, and I try my best to choose players that I am legitimately excited about. This week, I selected Javier Rivas as a name I wanted to write up, based on his recent performance and improvement in contact and power this season. However, the more I dug into the profile, the more red flags I found, and the more I began to lower my evaluation of him. By the time I'd finished writing him up, I didn't feel that I should include him in my recommendations as a pickup, so I chose to write up another player instead. I still included my write-up of Rivas at the end of this article as a bonus player, as I had already written it, but note that it's not really an official endorsement. Since next week is the All-Star break, Kyle and I will be taking a break from our standard format to write a mid-season accountability article. In this article, we will evaluate all our picks so far this year and grade ourselves on how we've performed. We will do the same at the end of the year, and I don't want Rivas counting against me when we do (insert laughing emoji).

Note: all stats current through Tuesday 7/8/25 and all minor league Statcast figures are sourced from TJ Stats.

Dynasty Baseball Pickups - Prospects Live
Prospects LiveTaylor Corso

Mid-Week Pickups

Alex Clemmey - 19/SP/WAS/A+

Height/Weight: 6’6”/205 lbs
Throws: L
Fantrax Rostership: 14%

Top 600 Rankings (June 25): 254
My Top 400 Rankings (June 25): 306

PLIVE- (Career): 88
PLIVE- (2025): 90

Scouting Grades (2025): Fastball: 55, Slider: 55, Changeup: 50, Command: 40

2024 stats (A): 92.1 IP, 4.50 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 31.5%K, 16.1%BB
2025 stats (A+): 64.2 IP, 3.34 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 30.4%K, 15.9%BB

Why To Pick Up

It's not every day I get excited about a pitcher when they get pummeled in a start, but here we are. Last time out, Clemmey put up an ugly 5.1 IP, 9 H, 5 ER pitching line. So why the excitement? Because it was the second straight start in which Clemmey gave up ZERO walks. I highlighted the zero because this is a significant development. Usually, I wouldn't care too much about a two-start stretch, but context is key here. Through June 14th this season, Clemmey had given up four or more walks in more than half of his 13 starts and had at least two walks in each. He hadn't walked one in a start since July 13th (when he was still in the Guardians organization) and had never had a zero walk game as a pro in 38 starts. Then something interesting happened. After June 14th, Clemmey skipped his next start without indication as to why. There was no report of injury, no IL placement, nothing. When he returned on June 27th, he did something so incredible I had to rush out to tweet about it.

To then follow that up with a second straight start with zero walks was a big deal. The strike-throwing backs it up, too. Clemmey has posted matching 60% strike rates in both 2024 and 2025 so far, and in his two most recent starts combined, he threw strikes at a 70% clip.
If Clemmey has finally learned to throw strikes, then watch out, as the stuff is fantastic. The arsenal is headlined by a mid-90s fastball that tops out at 98 and gets above-average to double-plus grades depending on where you look. He backs it up with a slider that gets above-average to plus grades and a changeup that gets below-average to average grades. Here is what our own Rhys White had to say about the arsenal this preseason:

Clemmey releases the ball from a three-quarters arm slot and has an unconventional setup pre-pitch. He angles his right foot at an extreme 45-degree angle, which allows him to hide the ball for a touch longer and enables his arsenal to play up, especially against right-handed batters. His fastball is a solid mid-90s offering that has topped out at 98, with good life. He does get erratic with it, causing issues in the form of long innings and inefficient pitch counts. This lack of fastball command does drag down his profile because he features a good mid-80s slider with some drop and horizontal movement. He also mixes in a good changeup, which shows good tumble and fade despite his lack of command. He is not afraid to use either of these two secondary pitches against any batter late in counts.

Clemmey has plenty of pedigree as well, having been a second-round pick in the 2023 draft and signing for $ 2.3 million. He was also the primary return for Lane Thomas in last summer's deal with the Guardians. He was also added to the Futures Game roster this week.

Why To Think Twice

With just a two-game sample and no word of mechanical changes during that skipped start, it's fair to be skeptical of this newfound control. With the potentially elite fastball and slider combination and a poor track record of command, the reliever risk is high. The injury risk is also high with a teenager who throws as hard as Clemmey does.

Final Thoughts

This may be me overcompensating after being slow to buy into Jacob Misiorowski's recent command transformation, but I'm excited about Clemmey. He hasn't pitched since July 3rd and was lined up to pitch yesterday, but didn't make the start, so you have to wonder if they are going to have him throw in the Futures Game. If he does, expect the stuff (and the hype) to play up in a short outing. Better to grab him now if he's out there in your shallower leagues. If he is, and these gains are real, this could pay off in a big way.

Where to pick up: Leagues with 150+ prospects rostered.

FAAB bid: Minimal (0-5%)