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Clemson 3B Richie Shaffer goes in 1st Rd of MLB Draft to Tampa Bay Rays

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Shaffer's statistics over 3 seasons in a Clemson uniform:


Season Avg gp ab r h 2b 3b hr rbi tb slg% bb hbp so gdp ob% sf sh sb-att
2010 .323 48 158 45 51 11 0 7 36 83 .525 18 7 36 1 .409 3 0 2 - 2
2011 .315 63 222 62 70 15 2 13 55 128 .577 44 7 53 7 .438 3 0 8 - 9
2012 .336 63 232 49 78 21 2 10 46 133 .573 63 3 53 2 .480 2 0 8 - 10
TOTAL .325 174 612 156 199 47 4 30 137 344 .562 125 17 142 10 .448 8 0 18 - 21

Recall that Richie missed a chunk in the middle of his freshman season because of a badly pulled groin muscle. Richie was originally drafted in the 25th round (#757 overall pick) by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2009 out of Providence Sr HS in NC. He was the prize recruit of that class recruited by Tom Riginos, and actually played 3B in his HS career as well as Pitcher.

It was not until the emergence of Jon McGibbon this year that Richie moved back to 3B, but he had a fairly poor fielding season overall (.938) that did improve steadily. Given the pro questions about his glove, it might have been better for him if he had played more at 3rd last season. He did make the All-ACC squad as both 1B and 3B in his career at CU. Some pro scouts think he could become a RF.

You might want to compare his statistics to RF Kyle Parker, who went at a similar spot of the 1st round to the Colorado Rockies after the 2010 season. Remember that Kyle did play with a more juiced bat than the BBCOR versions we use now.

Year AVG G-GS AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB HBP SF OB% SB
2008 .303 57-55 211 44 64 12 0 14 50 118 32 2 0 .400 2-3
2009 .255 63-60 231 48 59 7 0 12 52 102 29 7 5 .349 6-6
2010 .344 67-67 247 85 85 15 1 20 64 162 56 9 2 .478 4-6

I have thought for some time that Richie was a better pure hitting talent than Kyle or Tyler Colvin, and my personal belief is that he could be a Todd Helton-type of hitter in the pro ranks.

Clemson also lost Georgia HS RHP Lucas Sims earlier in the draft to the Atlanta Braves. We congratulate them both.