From unheralded prospect to one of the youngest players in Triple-A, how Jonatan Clase has worked his way up the minor league ladder and now waits on the precipice of MLB
Tonight is Opening Day for the Rainiers, and 21-year-old Jonatan Clase will be in the lineup; last year, he would have been the youngest player on Opening Day in the PCL, and the second-youngest player in all of Triple-A behind just Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn. It’s a big next step in the journey to the bigs for Clase, who has (literally) muscled his way up Mariners prospect lists despite signing for only a modest $30,000 out of the Dominican Republic back in 2018.
After a slow start to his professional career where he missed time in the complex league nursing a broken ankle and also lost developmental time during the pandemic, Clase has moved quickly through the Mariners’ system over the past three years. After a strong season in Modesto in 2022, Clase, who had never played above A ball, was a surprising addition to the Mariners’ 40-man, protecting him from the Rule-5 Draft. He began 2023 in Everett, only for the normally-conservative Mariners to promote him to Double-A Arkansas after just 21 games, making him one of the youngest players in the Texas League. This spring, the Mariners invited him to big-league camp and kept him there until close to the end of spring training before announcing he would begin his season at the highest level of minor-league ball.
“The most improved player in our camp, hands-down,” said Scott Servais. “Really talented player. The skill set is unique—obviously the speed, but he’s got a little power in the bat. The switch hit tool. There’s a lot to like in the whole package there. He’s got a chance at a really impactful career.”
Second walk-off in three days and seven wins in a row for the @ARTravs!
No. 12 @Mariners prospect Jonatan Clase delivers the game-winning hit: pic.twitter.com/jQkyWbzZLo
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 14, 2023
When Clase was reassigned to minor-league camp, both Servais and Justin Hollander sat down with him to discuss his improvements, providing positive reinforcement and encouragement during a time that could otherwise be upsetting for a young player. Hollander praised Clase’s fearlessness in the box as the biggest change he saw in the youngster. Servais was impressed with the quality of contact he saw from Clase, king of the gym rats, who puts in long hours working out to make the most of his smaller stature.
“He’s always been a strong kid, but the ball is just jumping off his bat better,” said Servais.
1 week 3 weeks…keep working hard pic.twitter.com/QZB3b9SBxm
— jonatan clase (@ClaseJonatan) October 28, 2022
It’s an incredible journey for a player who was once as a child sent home from his city’s team by a coach in the Dominican Republic, told he was too small to ever play professional baseball and he should stop wasting everyone’s time. Clase’s parents, both in the Dominican military and strong believers in their son’s talent and the work ethic they had instilled in him, simply found him a new team and told him to keep working.
The Mariners value hard work, and they have consistently rewarded Clase for his discipline. The most notable thing that drew praise from the organization this spring was Clase’s improved outfield defense, both in center and in left field, where he saw a lot of his reps with the big-league team. Clase spent the spring apprenticed to Mariners outfield legend Franklin Gutierrez, whom Clase describes as “like my father in the outfield.” Gutierrez, who has been working with Clase intensely since last season, says this year he and Clase focused largely on small adjustments and improving his reads, and praised the youngster for how quickly he incorporates those teachings into his game, combining the advice with his plus athleticism to make immediate changes.
Things you need to see today: this diving catch by Jonatan Clase pic.twitter.com/IR1MevusfE
— ROOT SPORTS™ | NW (@ROOTSPORTS_NW) March 1, 2024
Gutierrez also sees a difference in Clase’s confidence.
“There’s a difference in his maturity, how he carries himself,” said Gutierrez. “Wherever he plays—center, middle—he’s going to be good.”
His manager for the spring agrees, highlighting a change Clase made from playing deep in the outfield, using his plus speed to make up ground on balls hit in front of him but often leading to some adventurous outfield defense, to being more comfortable with balls hit over his head.
“His defense went to a different level,” said Servais. “It wasn’t that he was a bad defender—it was just very inexperienced, uncomfortable even tracking balls, going back on balls. He typically had played very deep in the outfield, so he was much more comfortable coming in. We saw him go back on a few balls this spring and finish plays.”
Servais, no stranger to hard work himself, appreciates Clase’s work ethic.
“I love the way he works. It is very intentional. For a guy that is as young as he is, when he goes out and he’s working on something, you know exactly what he’s doing and he keeps doing it until he gets it perfect, whether it’s bunting, stealing bases, whatever.”
Fe , cojones y paciencia pic.twitter.com/Xn6KwNgynx
— jonatan clase (@ClaseJonatan) March 16, 2024
As for goals for this year, Servais wants to see Clase control the strike zone better and target his aggressiveness.
“If he walks, it’s like a double. He is going to steal second base. So let’s have that mindset, just getting on base to do that, you know, controlling the strike zone and doing a better job there is his number one player plan goal.”
That will be a tall task for Clase, away from the prospect-heavy big stuff of the Texas League and facing off-speed merchants and crafty junkballers, many with MLB experience. But Servais, as well as the Mariners development staff, is confident Clase can make the necessary adjustments.
“It’ll be a good challenge for him. He’s playing against veteran guys, a lot of guys that played in the big leagues,” said Servais. “Certain guys, you keep challenging them. He might be over his skis a little bit, but I think people thought he was over his skis a little bit when he went to Double-A. And then he made an adjustment and he wasn’t over his skis, he was perfectly fine and one of the better players on the team. So you have to keep challenging good players.
He’s going to learn a lot this year. We’ll learn a lot about him. But he’s on the map. If we have an issue at any point this season and he’s playing well down there, we’ll go get him, put him in the big leagues, and let him go.”