Mike Clevinger

Mike Clevinger

32-Year-Old PitcherSP
Chicago White Sox
15-Day IL
Injury Wrist
Est. Return 6/2/2023
2023 Fantasy Outlook
The White Sox made one of the first big splashes of the offseason, signing Clevinger to a one-year, $12 million deal. Clevinger's return from November 2020 Tommy John surgery was delayed by a sore knee and he would go on to miss additional time with a triceps strain, but the right-hander still took the mound 23 times for San Diego (22 starts) during the 2022 regular season. His fastball velocity was down more than a tick from the last time we saw him and his strikeout rate was nowhere close to where it was during his peak years with Cleveland (18.8 K% last season). His home-run rate shot up to a career-high 1.6 HR/9. It's tough to evaluate Clevinger for 2023 given the additional injuries on top of rehab from reconstructive elbow surgery. In theory, Clevinger should get closer to being himself the further he is removed from surgery, but he has totaled just 282 innings since the start of the 2019 season and should be projected conservatively. Read Past Outlooks
RANKSFrom Preseason
#437
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the White Sox in November of 2022. Contract includes $12 million mutual option ($4 million buyout) for 2024.
Throwing bullpen session Saturday
PChicago White Sox
Wrist
May 26, 2023
Clevinger (wrist) is slated to throw a bullpen session Saturday, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
ANALYSIS
If it goes well, he'll throw a live batting practice session a couple days after that. The goal is for Clevinger to skip a rehab assignment and be activated from the IL when first eligible June 2 to start against the Tigers. He's been dealing with right wrist inflammation.
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Pitching Stats
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2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2023 MLB Game Log
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2022 MLB Game Log
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2021 MLB Game Log
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2020 MLB Game Log
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2019 MLB Game Log
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2018 MLB Game Log
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2017 MLB Game Log
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Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
92
Last 10 Games
92
Last 5 Games
95
How many pitches does Mike Clevinger generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does Mike Clevinger generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2021
 
 
-15%
BAA vs LHP
2023
 
 
-6%
BAA vs LHP
2022
 
 
-18%
BAA vs LHP
2021
No Stats
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2021vs Left .221 350 69 36 68 8 2 18
Since 2021vs Right .259 346 62 21 81 19 0 9
2023vs Left .247 96 13 13 20 4 1 5
2023vs Right .262 115 27 9 27 7 0 2
2022vs Left .211 254 56 23 48 4 1 13
2022vs Right .257 231 35 12 54 12 0 7
2021vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2021
 
 
-46%
ERA at Home
2023
 
 
-44%
ERA at Home
2022
 
 
-47%
ERA at Home
2021
No Stats
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2021Home 2.96 1.16 70.0 4 4 0 7.8 3.0 1.7
Since 2021Away 5.50 1.36 91.2 6 6 0 6.9 3.3 1.4
2023Home 3.15 1.55 20.0 1 1 0 8.6 5.0 1.8
2023Away 5.60 1.39 27.1 2 2 0 6.9 3.6 1.0
2022Home 2.88 1.00 50.0 3 3 0 7.6 2.2 1.6
2022Away 5.46 1.35 64.1 4 4 0 6.9 3.2 1.5
2021Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Mike Clevinger compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
1.82
 
K/9
7.6
 
BB/9
4.2
 
HR/9
1.3
 
Fastball
93.9 mph
 
ERA
4.56
 
WHIP
1.46
 
BABIP
.300
 
GB/FB
0.73
 
Left On Base
76.0%
 
Exit Velocity
82.2 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
5.6%
 
Spin Rate
2276 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
21.8%
 
Swinging Strike
8.9%
 
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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10 days ago
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
Now 16 months removed from Tommy John surgery, Clevinger believes he's made a full recovery from the procedure. The reports on his progress have been encouraging and Clevinger thinks he will be ready to go for the start of the 2022 season. New Padres manager Bob Melvin made it clear that Clevinger will be in the rotation, though Melvin added the caveat, "if 100 percent healthy." The team is taking it slowly with Clevinger this spring, which makes sense even if Clevinger is near the back-end of the usual recovery window from TJS. He had a brilliant 2018 season with Cleveland when he posted a 3.02 ERA over 200 innings, but the right-hander has never reached 130 innings in any other big-league season. A bet on Clevinger is a leap of faith on the health. The skills we've seen in the past make it tempting to take that leap.
When the Padres acquired Clevinger at the trade deadline, they figured to be securing an ace for the foreseeable future. The right-hander certainly looked the part early on, balancing one poor start with three strong ones for Cleveland prior to the deal. The move to the West Coast did little to dampen Clevinger's outlook as his numbers mostly improved after joining the Padres. There were a few areas of concern when examining his overall 2020 body of work -- namely, a 4.18 xFIP that exceeded his ERA by over a run and a 24.7 K% that was nearly 10 points lower than his 2019 mark -- but given the scrambled nature of the campaign and the fact Clevinger continued to miss bats at a healthy rate (12.8 SwStr%), San Diego should have entered 2021 giddy about him anchoring its rotation. Sadly, a late-season elbow issue turned out to need Tommy John surgery, so Clevinger won't be able to contribute until 2022.
Clevinger checks all the boxes of a fantasy ace. He features three plus pitches, led by a 96-mph fastball. His next best is a slider generating a 21.8% swinging strike mark followed by a change inducing swinging strikes 15.9% of the time. The only blemish is his curve with just 26th percentile spin, leading to a slightly-lower 13.9% swinging-strike rate but a hefty .405 BABIP. After a 200-inning campaign in 2018, Clevinger only threw 126 last season, with two IL stints. The first came after straining his back in his second start of the year. Clevinger spent nine weeks on the shelf before returning, only to go back for an ankle injury. After the minimum stay, Clevinger returned and never looked back. The Indians may be conservative so he may not reach the 200-inning plateau this season, but there's no reason he shouldn't come close. One last tidbit: Clevinger is 29, though he seems five years younger.
Clevinger avoided the sophomore slump in 2018 by not being a sophomore. He quietly exceeded his rookie eligibility in 2016. Last season was a nice step forward for Clevinger as he showed more command of his pitches than he had the previous two seasons and got to the 200-inning mark in just his third season in the majors. Although advanced pitch metrics show that all four of Clevinger's pitchers were better than average, he does struggle more against lefties who had 13 of the 21 homers against him last year and slugged 84 points better against than their right-handed teammates. Clevinger had a 31% increase in his workload from 2017 to 2018 (when including postseason work), but at age 28, that should not be as much of an issue as it is for other younger pitchers. Back-to-back seasons of stranding 80% of his runners is fortune rarely enjoyed by a starter, so factor in some ERA regression this season and you'll be fine.
Clevinger would be a first rounder if hair were a scoring category as he has a magical mane. What he does not have is consistent command as it comes and goes from game to game. There were times in 2017 when he looked dominating in outings and there were times he could not complete five innings due to high pitch counts and an inability to find the strike zone (4.4 BB/9). Clevinger has his flaws, but it is tough to overlook his potential as he strikes out 10 per nine innings and holds batters to a low batting average (.210), thus largely offsetting the free passes he is fond of handing out. His ERA was lower than it should have been as he stranded 79.7 percent of his runners, which is tough for a starting pitcher to do. He should be in the Cleveland rotation in 2018, so bank on wins, strikeouts and some WHIP help while keeping your fingers crossed that the ERA does not get too close to 4.00.
Clevinger looks like a Jacob deGrom starter kit, though he didn't quite pitch like one in a 53-inning debut sample. He has the 93-95 mph heater and three secondary pitches, but he leans on the slider and changeup while the curveball is more of a show-me pitch. The right-hander struggled a bit the third time through the lineup like most young arms. He also started slow so he really only found success in the third and fourth innings of his starts. He was also solid in 12 innings of relief. He needs to figure out righties again if he's going to find success similar to his minor league track record (3.41 ERA, 2.8 K/BB). Homers were his undoing, almost exclusively because of a lack of fastball command. He yielded too many walks with it to righties and lefties, but righties had a 600-point better OPS with five homers in 75 plate appearances. In summation: Clevinger has some common young-arm issues, but enough raw stuff to stay firmly on the radar.
More Fantasy News
Thinks it will be minimum IL stay
PChicago White Sox
Wrist
May 22, 2023
Clevinger (wrist) believes he'll be able to return following a minimum stay on the 15-day injured list, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Lands on injured list
PChicago White Sox
Wrist
May 21, 2023
Clevinger was placed on the 15-day injured list Sunday with right wrist inflammation, retroactive to May 18.
ANALYSIS
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Picks up third win
PChicago White Sox
May 17, 2023
Clevinger (3-3) earned the win Wednesday over the Guardians. He allowed two runs on six hits and four walks while striking out five over six innings.
ANALYSIS
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Tosses quality start Thursday
PChicago White Sox
May 11, 2023
Clevinger pitched six innings against Kansas City on Thursday, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks. He struck out two batters and did not factor in the decision.
ANALYSIS
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Picks up third loss
PChicago White Sox
May 6, 2023
Clevinger (2-3) took the loss Saturday, allowing four runs on six hits and one walk over six innings against Cincinnati. He struck out seven.
ANALYSIS
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