Denzel Clarke

Denzel Leslie Clarke

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 5", Weight 220 lb.
• School California State University, Northridge
• High School Everest Academy (Thornhill)

• Born May 1, 2000 in Toronto, ON CAN

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

OF Denzel Clarke was born and grew up in the greater Toronto, ON area. He was first drafted by the New York Mets in the 36th round of the 2018 amateur draft, coming out of high school, and again in the 4th round of the 2021 amateur draft, by the Oakland Athletics out of California State University, Northridge. He hit .324 in his junior season there before being drafted.

Denzel began his pro career in 2021 with the ACL Athletics, going 6 for 19 in 7 games. In his first full season in 2022, he began the year with the Stockton Ports of the California League before a mid-year promotion to the Lansing Lugnuts of the Midwest League. Around the time of the promotion, he was selected to play for the American League team at the 2022 Futures Game, played on July 16th at Dodger Stadium. In the game, he made a great running catch at the wall to rob Joey Wiemer of extra bases, before recording the final out of the game on a more routine fly ball by Jackson Chourio. In 93 games, he hit .248/.365/.469, with 23 doubles and 15 homers, while scoring 67 runs and driving in 47. His excellent speed was not only on display on defense, as he stole 30 bases and was only caught three times. He also impressed observers by hitting inside-the-park homers in back-to-back games on August 2-3. While three major leaguers had managed to hit two such homers in one game since 1961, none had done so in consecutive games. Of course, due to the spottiness of minor league daily logs, some other player could have achieved the feat and have it go completely unnoticed, but reporters were unable to find evidence of anyone doing so in the minors either. Following the season, he played in the Arizona Fall League.

He was named to the Canadian national team for the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

He has played for the Canadian junior national team at the 2017 U18 Baseball World Cup, hitting .280/.459/.360 with ten walks (one behind event leader Jeandro Tromp) and winning the Outstanding Defensive Player Award. His mother Donna Smellie competed for Canada in the heptathlon at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, CA and his cousin Gavin Smellie was a sprinter in the 100 metres relay at the 2012 London Olympics. He is also a cousin of Josh Naylor and Bo Naylor.

Further Reading

• Rob Terranova: "2 ITPHRs in 2 games? This A's prospect did it", mlb.com, August 4, 2022. [1]

Related Sites

• Cal State Northridge bio