As all the focus and hype has surrounded the recently promoted Travis Sykora, another top pitching prospect has been reminding people not to forget about his potential.

Nationals No. 5 prospect Alex Clemmey dominated on the mound and the Wilmington Blue Rocks got just enough hitting to earn a 4-3 win over the Aberdeen IronBirds on Saturday, July 19 at Frawley Stadium.

The ‘Rocks did their damage in the second as they scored all four of their runs in the frame. Armando Cruz and Sam Petersen both contributed two-RBI singles to give Clemmey some breathing room when he returned to the mound. 

The lefty cruised from there, not allowing Aberdeen to record a hit until the fifth inning and giving up just one run, an unearned run, to cross the plate in the sixth. Clemmey was lifted from the game after going 5 ⅔ innings, striking out six and walking three batters with three hits allowed. The bullpen, though they gave up a couple runs, would get the job done to make sure Clemmey was credited with the win, as Austin Amaral worked out of a jam in the ninth to shut the door on the IronBirds.

What was most impressive about the Rhode Island native’s start on the mound was his ability to battle through adversity. The second inning saw Clemney receive a controversial balk call before a runner reached third while in the fifth inning he would have to navigate having multiple runners on the basepaths. Clemney, who turned 20 on Friday, showed maturity beyond his years to make good pitches and leave the inning unscathed. 

“It’s about putting it past you. The next pitch is the next pitch. Get ahead of what you can, control what you can control and continue to work.” Clemmey said. 

“Clemmey’s got some of the best stuff in all of baseball,” Petersen added. “When he fills up the zone he’s a really good pitcher and he did that tonight. He’s really unhittable when he does that”.

On top of celebrating his birthday and putting together a good start in the past week, Clemmey also got the chance to show off his skills on a national stage. He was selected to participate in the MLB Futures game, an event that features many of the top prospects across baseball. While he only faced two batters, Clemmey still enjoyed his time down in Atlanta.

“It was cool just being around the best guys in the world,” Clemmey said. “It was cool to see where I stack up with everyone else. But I’m just keeping my head down and continuing to work.” 

Looking at the big picture, the win ensures Wilmington doesn’t fall too far behind first place in the second half standings. The Blue Rocks record sits at 11-12 and they are six games back behind Greensboro as they continue to work at clinching a playoff berth in the South Atlantic League playoffs. 

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