Phil Clarke Goes Back-To-Back as High-A West Player of the Week

HILLSBORO, OR – Minor League Baseball announced today that Vancouver Canadians catcher Phil Clarke has been named the High-A West Player of the Week for September 7-12 after earning the distinction last week as well. He becomes the first player in the league to win the award in consecutive weeks this season.

Clarke built off his huge series a week ago with another eye-popping stat line this week. After rapping out 13 hits in five games against Everett, the former Vanderbilt Commodore used six hits – including two doubles and a pair of homers – to drive in 12 runs, scored four times and worked two walks.

The highlight of his week was an eight RBI game on September 9 against Spokane. That night, he started his line with a bases-clearing double to score three in the bottom of the first, clubbed a three-run bomb in the fifth and doubled home another two in the sixth to lead the Canadians to a 14-5 rout.

A native of Franklin, TN, Clarke carried an eight-game hitting streak – a personal high – into the series and has a hit in nine of his last 11 games played. His September numbers are video game-like; in 10 games, he’s slashing.366/.429/.780/1.209 with five doubles, four home runs, nine runs scored, 17 RBI, three walks and 32 total bases across 41 at-bats.

Clarke has only improved amidst a remarkable rise in the second half. After injuring his thumb on July 2, he was out of action through July 14 when he entered play with a .195 batting average. After going hitless in his return to play and his average at .191, he started his meteoric ascent with three hits on July 15 and has since raised his mark to .250 as of September 12.

Clarke is a career .252 hitter in 120 games played over two professional seasons. He was a College World Series champion in 2019 with the Vandy Boys before Toronto took him in the ninth round of the draft that year.