Stars pitcher Clement on fast track to Majors

Steve Guiremand

Tuesday, March 24, 1998 | 8:37 a.m.

PEORIA, Ariz. --- Matt Clement is no stranger to the city of Las Vegas.

"My high school played in that big Christmas basketball tournament there my senior year," the Butler, Pa., native recalls. "It was awesome. Our team finished ninth. I had a great time there."

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound right-hander, who turned down basketball scholarships to schools like Pitt and Duquense to concentrate on baseball instead, will return to Las Vegas in a couple of weeks as a starting pitcher for the Stars.

But for how long?

Baseball America rates Clement as the top prospect in the San Diego Padres organization and the 16th best prospect overall in baseball. It predicts his time of arrival in the major leagues at 1999.

But if Clement, who began 1997 at Rancho Cucamonga of the Class A California League and was quickly promoted to Mobile of the AA Southern League, pitches as well as advertised, there's a chance he could be in San Diego come September ... if not sooner.

After all, it's not every day an organization has a young pitcher who combines a mid-90 mph fastball with a hard slider and a good sinkerball.

"He has a bright future," Stars manager Jerry Royster said. "His getting to the AAA level is a very important step in his career. His next step is the big leagues."

"I've seen some publications say I'll be (in the big leagues) next year and others say it could be this year," said Clement. "When the Padres are ready to bring me up, they'll bring me up. All I can do is work hard and keep improving."

And get healthy. Clement, bothered by a sore deltoid muscle in his upper back, pitched only his seventh and eighth innings of the spring Monday against Oakland's AAA team, Edmonton, in a game in Phoenix. He gave up two runs in two innings before leaving when he felt tightness in the muscle again.

"It's coming around," Clement said. "I'm still not 100 percent. It doesn't hurt. I just wasn't completely comfortable out there. It started feeling a little stiff, so I didn't want to take a chance of really hurting it."

That's fine with Royster and the Padres' organization, which refused to include Clement in a trade for Kevin Brown when the Florida Marlins came calling last fall.

"We're trying to be a little cautious with the injury he has," said Royster. "He's had a little soreness there. It's something to be concerned about. We can't take a chance of pitching him if he's hurting."

Despite the stiffness he felt on Monday, Clement already was looking ahead to his next pitching date for the Stars.

"They told me I'll start next time," said Clement. "That's what I'm looking forward to."

"He won't be pitching again until we're sure he's ready to go," Royster responded.

Clement said he doesn't feel any extra pressure from the expectations placed on him by Baseball America.

"I'm not used to that kind of attention," he admits. "But I take it for what it's worth. If I don't keep working hard and improving, I could be gone one day. I'm honored to just be mentioned on that list. When I see myself on a list like that, it's kind of beyond reality."