Buchholz @ Toronto 9/19

Clay making his 3rd major league start, but picked up the loss. He pitched pretty well however, going 4.2 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. He was pulled out after 68 pitches, which was disappointing, but understandable. They are definetly trying to keep him around the 155 inning limit they set for him. Ran into his trouble in the 5th when he let up the 2 runs. Opponents hitting just .184 off Clay and Clay is striking out 8.74 batters per 9 innings.

Buchholz @ Baltimore 9/6

Clay making his first Major League relief appearance against the Orioles who he no-hit in his last start. He went 3 innings, 1 hit, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K. Control was way off to start as he started the first batter with a walk and gave up a single to RF. He then walked the next batter to load the bases. However he got a timely double-play to help escape the inning without any runs allowed. He retired every batter after loading the bases and picked up the win. Stuff was solid as he settled in and consistently hit 93-94 with the fastball. Clay now 3-0 on the season.

Clay Buchholz vs, Baltimore 9/1

NO-HITTER! Unbelievable performance from Clay in just his 2nd major league start, no hitting the Baltimore Orioles. He pitched 9 innings, 0 hits, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 K and a HBP. Had all his pitches working tonight, and fitting that he ends the game on a filthy curve. Clay becomes only the 3rd player in MLB history to pitch a no-hitter in his first or 2nd major league start. He finished with 115 pitches after having a previous career high of 98. GM Theo Epstein said they were highly considering taking him out if he got around 120 pitches, luckily that wasn't necessary. Congrats Clay, what a game!

Buchholz @ Buffalo 8/22

In his first start back from the majors, Clay wasn't on his game. He struggled with control and gave up a run in each of his innings of work. He went 3 innings, 4 hits, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K and came out after 63 pitches, most likely in a move to limit his innings for the season. Clay looks to bounce back tonight against Rochester.

Buchholz vs. Anaheim

Clay made his Major League debut on Saturday and picked up the win. His first start was up against a first-place ballclub and against Cy Young candidate John Lackey. But the Red Sox got to Lackey early and Clay held the fort down for a nice debut. He went six innings, 8 hits, 4 runs, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. His change-up stood out the most as it was practically unhittable all day. He struggled with control early on but got better as the game went on, most likely due to it being his first start. Curve was inconsistent but threw some nasty hooks for strikes at times. Fastball ranged from 91-93, touching 94. Overall impressive start, Clay was optioned back down to Pawtucket after the game as planned.

Buchholz Headed to Boston

Multiple sources are stating that Clay Buchholz will indeed make his first Major League start in game 1 of the double-header vs. the Angels. The move was a long time coming as Buchholz is hands-down the best starting pitcher in Minor League Baseball. Clay has a tough task facing a good offense in the Angels but he has the composure and talent to be able to come up and get major league hitters out. Congratulations Clay, look forward to seeing you in the majors!

Buchholz @ Syracuse 8/12

Another nice start Clay. Struggled a bit early but finished very strong, going 5 innings, 3 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K. The two earned runs came on two solo shots off of Clay. On the season now Clay has 48 strikeouts in just 30.1 innings giving him 14.26 K/9 in AAA. Cobined with the fact that he has only walked 8, his K/BB stands at a very impressive 6.00. There are rumors that Clay will get the start in Boston on Friday as part of the double-header vs. the Angels. Clay also turns 23 today so I'd like to wish him a happy 23rd birthday!

Buchholz vs. Ottawa 8/6

Another fantastic start for Clay Buchholz. He went 7 innings, giving up four hits (all singles), 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K. Had everything working for him, getting nine strikouts and again no walks. Controlled the strikezone beautifully and is getting the hang of AAA and definetly looks like he is ready to get his first taste of the majors. In AAA now he has pitched 25.1 innings, 20 hits, 6 BB, 39 K, 3.20 ERA. His BABIP is currently high (.344) so once that evens out expect even more domination. He now is striking out 13.90 batters per 9 innings and only walking 2.13 batters per 9 giving up an outstanding 6.5 K/BB. He clearly appears to be the best SP prospect in the minors and has numbers that rival all of the other top pitching prospects that have recently graduated. Stay tuned...

Buchholz vs. Buffalo 8/1

Nice start for Buchholz this time around. Wasn't held back in pitch count for this game and went 6.1 innings, 5 hits, 2 ER, 0 BB, 9 K. One of the earned runs was on a HR. I didn't get a chance to see the game so I only really have boxscore info, but the strikeouts are very nice to see as is the no walks allowed. On the season now (in AAA), he's pitched 18.1 IP, 16 hits, 30/6 K/BB, 3.93 ERA, 3 HRA. HR totals are a bit high, we'll have to see if those continue to hold true given the extremely small sample size. But he has a 5.0 K/BB and striking out over 14 batters/per 9 innings so he's missing a lot of bats. I think AAA is a good level for him, AA was way too easy for him, hitters in AAA are more polished and I think this will be a good learning experience. Given that Boston aquired Gagne and the rotation appears full at the moment, there doesn't appear to be an immediate need in the Boston pitching staff. No doubt Clay could get major league hitters out but AAA will provide a good place for him to make good pitches and continue to work on his fastball command, stay tuned.

Buchholz @ Toledo 7/27

Not his best start by any means. On a pitch count, he went 4 innings, gave up 3 hits (1 HR, 2 singles), 2 ER, 4 BB, 7 K. First inning did the most damage on his line as he walked a batter and then gave up a 2-run HR. He then proceeded to walk 2 more batters in the inning. He settled down after that before running into some trouble in the 3rd where he gave up 2 singles and a walk but got out without any damage. The good thing though is his K-rate is still ridiculous. He's now struck out 21 batters in 12 innings (15.75 K/9). Obviously because of this outing his walk rate is high (4.50 BB/9) with a 4.50 ERA, but Clay's control is significantly better than that and given more time he'll adjust just fine.

Buchholz vs. Louisville 7/22

Awesome, pretty much describes his outing today. Buchholz in his second AAA start, on a 5 inning/75 pitch limit made Louisville hitters look foolish all day. He went 5 innings (74 pitches), 3 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, 10 K. He had 20 swing and misses with just 74 pitches and had multiple strikeouts on all four of his pitches. The trouble came in the third when he walked a batter, hung a curve for a double, gave up a single and a sac fly. But other than that he was just dominant and had these hitters completely baffled most of the time. He struck out superstar prospect Jay Bruce twice today also. Overall very impressive for his 2nd start in AAA.

July 16th vs. OTT

Here we are one step below the show in AAA. Clay made his debut and was less than spectacular. He pitched 3 innings, allowing 5 hits (one of which was a 3-run HR), 3 runs, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K. First the positives, he struck out 4 batters and didn't walk any which bodes well for future success. He hadn't started a game in a while so he was one a 50 pitch limit. Hitters sat on his fastball which Clay seemed to throw first-pitch FB's to every batter and that's how he was getting hit. His next start is Sunday, I wouldn't make too much out of this start as it was his first in AAA and first start in a while.

Obligatory Buchholz vs. Hughes Comparison

You knew it was coming, Buchholz finished his AA campaign and here's the statistical comparison with Yankee blue-chipper Phil Hughes' AA season from last year.

Buchholz AA 2007 (22 yrs): 86.2 IP, 55 hits, 116/22 K/BB, 1.77 ERA, 0.95 GO/AO
Hughes AA 2006 (19 yrs): 116.0 IP, 73 hits, 138/32 K/BB, 2.25 ERA, 1.58 GO/AO

comes out to:
Buchholz: 5.7 hits/9, 12.04 K/9, 2.28 BB/9, 5.2 K/BB, 1.80 BAA, 0.88 WHIP, 0.42 HR/9
Hughes: 5.6 hits/9, 10.70 K/9, 2.48 BB/9, 4.31 K/BB, 1.79 BAA, 0.91 WHIP, 0.39 HR/9

Promotion, and Future Game Wrap-up

I apologize for the delay in posting, a couple things to cover today including Clay's bullpen stint, his future game appearance, and his promotion. To start with in his first bullpen outing he was a bit shaky, pitching 1 1/3 innings, allowing 2 hits, 1 ER, 1 BB and struck out 1. Clay always seems to get better as the game goes on which is why he projects much better to stay a starter. Then yesterday in his Futures Game appearance he pitched one inning, allowing 1 ER (HR) and struck out 2, scouts were very impressed despite the HR. And this will wrap-up Buchholz's time in AA as he is being promoted to AAA Pawtucket following the All-Star break. His final numbers were: 86.2 IP, 55 hits, 116/22 K/BB, 1.77 ERA and opponents hit just .180 off him. A well deserved promotion indeed.

Futures Game and All-star selection

Announced about a week ago, Clay was selected (along with fellow Red Sox OF prospect Jacoby Ellsbury) to play in the futures game for team USA. The game will take place on July 8th and Clay is expected to pitch an inning in relief. Buchholz was pulled from his 5 inning no-hitter by Red Sox GM Theo Epstein (who was in attendence) and will pitch an outing out of the bullpen for Portland in the coming days in prepartation for the futures game. Also it comes to no ones surprise that Clay was named to the Eastern League All-Star game. The game is to be played on July 11th leaving it unlikely Clay will pitch because of the Futures game in San Francisco three days earlier. Buchholz leads the Eastern League in strikeouts (115), ERA (1.69) and WHIP (.87). He was also named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for this past week.

Buchholz vs. Fisher Cats 6/30/07

Another very nice outing for Buchholz. He went 5 innings allowing 0 hits, 0 ER, 2 BB and 4 Ks. Didn't really throw many curveballs tonight hence the "low" strikeout totals for tonight, but his change-up was working and fooling hitters the whole night. On the season he has pitched 85.1 IP, 53 hits, 115/21 K/BB, 1.69 ERA and opponents are now batting a microscopic .177 off him on the year. Red Sox GM Theo Epstein attended the game last night and was the reason Buchholz was taken out after only five innings (his PC was in the 70 range).

Epstein had this to say following the outing: (Printed in the Portland Press Herald)
"He's going to throw an inning of relief in the Futures Game so what we're going to do is give him an inning of relief four days from now, on the Fourth.Instead of just interrupting his starting routine, we're going to turn this into a developmental experience for him. We're going to let him see what it's like to pitch out of the pen.We look at him as a starting pitcher but you never know. A lot of great starting pitchers at some point in their career pitch in the pen. This will give him a feel for what it's like. It will also give him a little breather in the middle of the year."

The Next Morning

After Buchholz dazzled Fisher Cat hitters last night and received a standing ovation, Fisher Cats manager Bill Masse had this to say in the Union Leader this morning: ""I think it's sad," Masse said. "We're not playing the Boston Red Sox. We're playing the Portland Sea Dogs. Unless you're from that area, you root for your hometown team. This is New Hampshire's team, Manchester's team and to see Clay Buchholz get a standing ovation was absolutely disgraceful." After the game Clay had this to say: "I didn't expect it, but it was nice."

Buchholz vs. Fisher Cats 6/25

Dominant. Pretty much describes Buchholz's outing tonight. 6.1 IP, 4 hits, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 K. On the year now hes pitched 80.1 IP, 53 hits, 19 BB, 111 K, 1.69 ERA for AA Portland. That comes out to 5.84 K/BB(!) and 12.44 K/9(!). He had all his pitches working for him tonight, touching 96 MPH on his fastball even late in the game and consistently hitting 94 MPH (gun may have been a tad fast, but always good to see velocity like that late in games). His curve ball froze hitters on multiple occasions and he mixed in a very good changeup and slider. The lone ER came after Clay gave up a 1 out single and MR Hunter Jones making his AA debut gave up an in-the-park-home run. He's definetly in line for a promotion to AAA Pawtucket in the near future, stay tuned.

Introduction to the blog

Here to talk about Red Sox #1 prospect Clay Buchholz. Clay was drafted with the 42nd pick in the 2006 MLB First Year Player Draft. Since then he's skyrocketed up the prospect ranks in Boston and in major league baseball. Armed with a Mid-90's fastball, a plus curve ball (plus-plus according to GM Theo Epstein), a plus change-up, and a good slider, Buchholz has the makeup to be a potential major-league ace.