Reid Clague 7/2/26

When I first created an ACL Pitchers of Interest List, I scanned over the rosters looking for physical outliers with interesting backgrounds. The Reds had a 6’5” 190 pound lefty from Canada. Reid Clague is that guy. He is from Victoria, BC, and the Reds signed him for $150k as a non-drafted free agent last summer.

Clague is not only interesting for his size; he spins a couple tight breakers, has decent body control, and touches 95. I suspect he is heavier than the listed 190 (maybe 200-205) but also believe some projection remains. He is a tall, physical kid with broad shoulders and wide hips.

It’s a 5-pitch mix: 4SM, 2SM, SL, CB, CHG. The fastball played true 90-92, but he seemed to have more in the tank hitting 93-95 a few times when elevating with two strikes. The slider was 81-83, flashing late dive and showed the most potential as a sw/m offering. Clague had feel to add and subtract on the curve, a mostly vertical pitch in the 74-79 range. Changeup was more of a weak contact barrel miser than a sw/m pitch – repeated arm speed well, light fade.

Consistency of Clague’s mix was a work in progress but you could see a deep arsenal of workable pitches. He also has an idea of what he’s doing – likes to change eye levels with breakers down/4sm up and also works his 2SM/CHG down and a way looking for weak contact early in counts. The execution, however, was not always there. He has decent body control for a big kid, but I think it’s ultimately a control over command look for Clague.

I liked Clague’s stoic demeanor on the mound too. The ump missed a couple of his breaking balls low in the zone, and he looked completely non-plussed (modern usage) by it.

There’s a lot to like with this kid. If he can add some strength more consistently work mid-90s, he suddenly becomes a dude. It’s an outcome in play, given his physique/build and his cold weather background. For now, he is a strong-interest developmental arm with intriguing upside.