The 3rd Man In

Brewers select prep outfielder Trent Clark

With the 15th overall pick in the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft the Milwaukee Brewers selected prep outfielder Trent Clark out of out of Richland (TX) High School.

USA Baseball 18U National Team outfielder Trenton Clark (Fort Worth, Texas) during an exhibition game against Canada at Minute Maid Park on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2014, in Houston. ( Photo by Smiley N. Pool )

USA Baseball 18U National Team outfielder Trenton Clark (Fort Worth, Texas) during an exhibition game against Canada at Minute Maid Park on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2014, in Houston. (Photo by Smiley N. Pool)

“We are excited to have Trent in the organization,” Vice President of Amateur Scouting/Special Assistant to the General Manager Ray Montgomery said. “He has proven to be a team leader and is one of the better bats in the draft. He is a potential five-tool player and we are excited to get that type of player with the 15th selection”

Clark, 18, hit .552 with three home runs, 24 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in his senior high school season.

Clark was regarded as the 12th best prospect by MLB.com and was expected to be off the board when the Brewers went on the clock. He’s one of the best prep hitters in the draft class and does a solid job making hard contact consistently.

“We’re pretty excited about getting a real professional hitter,” general manager Doug Melvin said. “That’s something we felt we’ve lacked in our system recently.”

Melvin also stated he was pleased to add a talented hitter, especially from the left side of the plate.

“We’re pretty excited about getting a real professional hitter,” he said. “That’s something we felt we’ve lacked in our system recently. We didn’t think he would be there. It is a good pick for us. Being in this ballpark too, left-handed. We don’t have a lot of left-handed hitters in our system.”

Clark uses an unorthodox grip when he swings, which he has used since he was 13 years old, and describes it as a grip a golfer would use when swinging a golf club.

“It’s basically a golf grip without fingers crossing the bat,” Clark said. “When I was younger, I was a weaker kid. The bat (sat) in the back of my hands and moved around a lot, so I didn’t have a lot of bat control. I put it in the top of my hands, got a firm grip on it, kept the thumbs on there to keep it balanced and (that) gave me more bat control. And ever since then I’ve used it.”

Clark is committed to play college baseball at Texas Tech, but Melvin indicated that they don’t believe he will be a tough sign.

“We draft them and then we worry about that later,” Melvin said. “It shouldn’t be a problem.”

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