One of the more underdiscussed prospects in the Nationals system is Alex Clemmey. In a way, this makes sense. He is not one of the Nats top 3 prospects and his year pretty much went according to plan in 2025. Clemmey is who we thought he was, an electric arm that can dominate when he is in the zone. Staying in the zone is the big question though.
Clemmey’s stats were very strong in his first full season in the Nats organization. In 116.2 minor league innings, Clemmey posted a 3.47 ERA with 136 strikeouts. He was particularly dominant in High-A, where he posted a 2.47 ERA. Double-A proved to be a challenge in his first few starts, but he finished the season with three strong outings.
Clemmey only turned 20 in July and was seen as a raw prospect, so reaching Double-A at all is impressive. There is still plenty of work to do, but Clemmey is ahead of schedule and is one of the few Nats top prospects to have a positive year in 2025. Clemmey showed he can be durable and effective as a young pitcher. He also made some strides in his game.
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The biggest stride he made was with his pitch mix. Before last year, Clemmey was almost exclusively a 4-seam fastball/slider guy. However, he brought two effective new offerings to the table this year. The first one is a sinker that he uses to get ground balls. Using two fastballs has become a bit of a trend, and it is something Clemmey has decided to do.
However, his biggest development was with his changeup. Before this year, he barely threw one and had little for the pitch. He took a massive step in the right direction with the pitch in 2025. Baseball America noted that he was much more comfortable throwing the pitch and it has above average potential. They gave the pitch a 55 grade, much better than the 40 grade from MLB Pipeline.
When Clemmey is on his game, he can be absolutely filthy. He is a 6’6 lefty with a deceptive delivery, a lower arm slot and nasty stuff. Clemmey is just tough for hitters to pick up, especially lefties, who hit .198 against him. At his best, Alex Clemmey is a buzz saw.
There is one pretty serious drawback for Clemmey, and it is the walks. Last season, Clemmey walked 14.4% of hitters. That is an improvement from his 16.1% mark from 2024, but still not good enough. Even when he was dominating in High-A, the walks were an issue. In fact, he walked 15.9% of hitters at the High-A level last year. If he wants to remain a starter, that number needs to come down closer to 10 or 11%.
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He does not need to be Greg Maddux, but he needs to be in the zone more. When he got to Double-A, he clearly got told to throw it in the zone more, but the results were not great. While his walks went down to under 10%, he became much more hittable. Clemmey will always need to find that balance. It is why a lot of scouts think Clemmey will be a reliever.
If he ends up in the bullpen, Clemmey has the chance to be a lights out reliever. As a starter, Clemmey sits in the 92-96 MPH range. However, he has more in the tank and I think he could be a 96-97 guy in a bullpen role. At just 20 years old, the Nats should give him the runway to start, but the reliever option gives him a nice fallback.
Getting an arm like this in exchange for Lane Thomas was a really nice move by Mike Rizzo. He had his flaws, but finding fun talent at the trade deadline was not one of them. Clemmey could end up being one final present from Rizzo to the organization.
This season will be an important one for Clemmey. Developing command is tougher than teaching a new pitch or adding velocity, but we have seen guys learn to throw more strikes. Hopefully the new regime can help Clemmey make strides with his command. If he can throw more strikes, watch out because the sky is the limit.
