Samuel Thomas Hunter Clay (born June 21, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. He made his MLB debut with the Washington Nationals in 2021 and has also played for the New York Mets.

Amateur career

Clay attended Buford High School in Buford, Georgia. He enrolled at the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, where he played college baseball for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. As a draft-eligible sophomore, the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

selected Clay in the fourth round of the

2014 MLB draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

Professional career

Minnesota Twins

Clay pitched in the Twins' minor league system from 2014 to 2019. In 2020, he was a non-roster invitee to Minnesota's 60-man player pool, working out at the alternate training site at CHS Field in St. Paul. The Twins never added Clay to their major league roster, and he became a minor league free agent after the 2020 season.

Washington Nationals

On November 18, 2020, the Washington Nationals announced they had signed Clay to a major league contract, adding him to a major league roster for the first time in his playing career. On April 6, 2021, Clay was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut the next day, throwing a shutout inning against the Atlanta Braves. He was designated for assignment on July 1, 2022 by Washington.

Philadelphia Phillies

On July 5, 2022, the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

acquired Clay off waivers from the Nationals and sent him to the minor leagues. He was designated for assignment on July 8.

New York Mets

On July 10, 2022, Clay was claimed off waivers by the New York Mets. On August 20, Clay was designated for assignment. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On December 12, 2022, Clay signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks with an invite to spring training.

Pitching style

Clay is noted as an extreme groundball pitcher who rarely allows home runs. His pitching arsenal includes a sinking fastball and an above-average curveball.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clay, Sam 1993 births Living people Baseball players from Knoxville, Tennessee Major League Baseball pitchers Washington Nationals players New York Mets players Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets baseball players Elizabethton Twins players Cedar Rapids Kernels players Fort Myers Miracle players Chattanooga Lookouts players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players Rochester Red Wings players Mankato MoonDogs players