Taylor James Clarke (born May 13, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Amateur career

Clarke attended Broad Run High School in

Ashburn, Virginia Ashburn is a census-designated place (CDP) in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, its population was 43,511, up from 3,393 twenty years earlier. It is northwest of Washington, D.C., and part of the Washingt ...

, where he played baseball, basketball and golf. He began his college career at Towson University. In January 2013, Clarke tore the ulnar collateral ligament of his pitching elbow, and underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

. He learned in March that Towson planned on ending their college baseball program, and transferred to the College of Charleston.

Professional career

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks selected Clarke in the third round of the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks ...

. He signed with the Diamondbacks and spent his professional season with the Hillsboro Hops of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, where he did not give up a run in 21

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. Clarke spent the 2016 season with the Kane County Cougars, Visalia Rawhide, and the Mobile BayBears, where he posted a combined 12–9 record and 3.31 ERA in 149.1

with the three clubs. In 2017, he played for both the Jackson Generals and the Reno Aces, pitching to a combined 12–9 record and 3.35 ERA in 145 total innings between both teams. He spent all of 2018 with AAA Reno Aces going 13–8 with a 4.03 ERA. The Diamondbacks added Clarke to their 40-man roster after the 2018 season. He opened the 2019 season with the Reno Aces. On April 20, he was recalled to the major league roster for the first time. He made his major league debut that afternoon versus the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, recording three scoreless innings in relief and earning a save. His first big-league win came on May 25 at Oracle Park against the San Francisco Giants. He finished the season with a record of 5-5 in 23 games (15 starts). Clarke joined a small group of Major League pitchers who picked up a win, loss and save in their first three appearances. In 2020, Clarke pitched to a 4.36 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 43.1 innings pitched across 12 appearances (5 starts). Following the 2021 season, on November 30, 2021, Clarke was non-tendered by the Diamondbacks, making him a free agent.

Kansas City Royals

On December 1, Clarke signed a major league contract with the

Personal life

Clarke was born with

paralysis Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...

of the muscles on the right side of his face. Clarke and his wife, also named Taylor, have twin sons together.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Taylor 1993 births Living people Baseball players from Virginia People from Ashburn, Virginia Major League Baseball pitchers Arizona Diamondbacks players Kansas City Royals players Towson Tigers baseball players College of Charleston Cougars baseball players Hillsboro Hops players Kane County Cougars players Visalia Rawhide players Mobile BayBears players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players Reno Aces players All-American college baseball players