Ask him, and Jonatan Clase will tell you he’s the fastest player the Mariners have, at any level of the organization. (Ahem, sorry Julio.)
He’s also been the Mariners’ fastest-rising prospect this year, a 21-year-old switch-hitting center fielder with 47 steals in 74 minor league games and, best of all, an unexpected touch of power for someone listed at 5 feet, 10 inches and 150 pounds.
Case in point: During batting practice Saturday afternoon, before he was set to leadoff for the American League team in the Futures Game, Clase peppered line drives from both sides of the plate. Then, hitting from the right side, he belted a home run into the upper deck at T-Mobile Park, rare territory for even typical big-leaguer to reach.
“Clase is a special talent,” said former Mariners center fielder Mike Cameron, a special assignment coach in Seattle’s player-development system.
Complete coverage MLB All-Star Game in Seattle
Cameron has worked closely with Clase on his defense in center field, and Cameron said Clase still needs to improve on his reads, particularly on fly balls hit over his head. But Cameron likes the progress he’s seeing, and he said Clase’s “plus-plus” speed makes up for a lot of missteps.
Case in point: In the second inning, Clase seemed to get a slightly delayed read on a line drive hit off the bat of Phillies prospect Justin Crawford, with the bases loaded. But Clase was able to recover and sprinted in to make a diving catch and rob Crawford of a hit.
Clase is one of the most surprising prospects in the Mariners’ system for several reasons.
For one, he wasn’t a highly touted international signing coming out of the Dominican Republic as a 16-year-old in 2018. Noelvi Marte, another 16-year-old Dominican, headlined the Mariners’ international class that year, signing for a reported $1.55 million.
Clase signed for a modest $35,000.
(Marte, the centerpiece of the Mariners’ trade for Luis Castillo last year, represented the Cincinnati Reds in the Futures Game, starting at third base for the NL squad.)
For another, there’s Clase’s power: He has 16 home runs in 290 at-bats this season, and 33 across 258 career games in the minors, with a .469 slugging percentage.
Then there’s his switch-hit tool, something the Mariners didn’t even know about until Clase starting swinging from both sides a couple years ago while rehabbing from an injury. It’s made his outlook even more intriguing for the Mariners.
Harry Ford, the Mariners’ top prospect, disclosed another hidden talent for Clase.
“He cooks really well — really, really well,” Ford said, noting Clase’s specialty is a chicken plantain with rice.
Ford and Clase, roommates when they played together earlier this season at High-A Everett, had lockers situated next to each other at the front of the home clubhouse at T-Mobile Park. They’ve grown close playing together at three different affiliates over the past two-plus seasons.
“He’s my brother,” Clase said. “I love him.”
Ford said getting to play in the Futures Game together was one of goals they laid out before the season.
“We’ve been teammates for the last three years … and it’s been great just seeing him flourish,” Ford said.
Clase hit leadoff Saturday and Ford started at catcher, batting cleanup.
Facing the Phillies’ Mick Abel, a top pitching prospect in the NL, both struck out in the first inning. Clase struck out again in his next at-bat, but he was eager to soak up the experience of playing in T-Mobile Park for the first time.
“It’s a special day for me,” he said.
‘Coach’ Felix, anyone?
Raul Ibanez served as the manager of the National League team, Harold Reynolds was the AL manager, and a dozen other former Mariners served as coaches in the Futures Game.
Among them: Jay Buhner, Dave Valle, Alvin Davis, Jamie Moyer and Cameron on Reynolds’ AL squad; and Felix Hernandez, Adrian Beltre, Dan Wilson, Randy Winn, Joel Pineiro and Jeremy Reed on Ibanez’s NL squad.
Ken Griffey Jr., a day after the first HBCU Swingman Classic, was also in attendance, chatting and posing for pictures on the field with his hat turned backward.
It made for some fun banter in the buildup to the game Saturday.
“Man, we’ve been talking a lot of crap,” Hernandez said with a smile.
Hernandez was one of the pitching coaches of the NL squad. He’s also been a coach for his son Jeremy’s 14-and-under travel ball team in Miami.
So is coaching in Felix’s future?
“No, no. Not going to happen,” he said.
Felix will be back in Seattle for his induction into the Mariners Hall of Fame on Aug. 12. He said he’s already a little nervous about giving his speech in what will no doubt be a sold-out crowd at T-Mobile Park.
“It’s going to be short and quick: ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.’ That’s it,” he promised. “Maybe with some tears. Who knows?”
The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times.