Clemens to pitch to Astros' prospects
General manager Tim Purpura confirmed on Sunday that the Astros received permission from Major League Baseball to allow Clemens to pitch to the Minor Leaguers, one of whom is third base prospect Koby Clemens. The minicamp began earlier this week and will continue until the remainder of the Minor Leaguers report to Kissimmee on March 5.
Clemens, 43, is training for the World Baseball Classic and asked the Astros for the opportunity to pitch in minicamp.
"He's not doing this by our request," Purpura said. He's doing this at his request, in preparation of the World Baseball Classic."
Clemens will pitch for Team USA, which begins training in Arizona later this week. He's scheduled to throw at the Astros' minicamp early Monday afternoon, but likely will start sometime before 8 a.m. ET on Thursday, before flying to Arizona.
In other news, Tommy Whiteman, once a top shortstop prospect in the organization, will report to Minor League camp in March and likely will make the Triple-A Round Rock Express. He also may spend some time in big league camp, when players begin leaving for the World Baseball Classic.
Whiteman will play mainly short but also can play third and may be viewed as a utility infielder.
Once a top prospect along with Chris Burke, Whiteman's stock has dropped a bit over the years. But the Astros believe he still has the ability to play at the big league level, and now it's just a matter of what assistant general manager Ricky Bennett referred to as "lighting a fire" under the quiet, somewhat introverted infielder.
"We're trying to get him to where he's got more energy and got more life and is smiling and enjoying the game," Bennett said. "But that's just his personality.
"He's got the abilty to play at the big league level, no question about it. It's just him being able to continue to work at it, to get back to where he was before when he was on the roster."
Alyson Footer is a reporter for MLB.com.