As you are well aware, I would like nothing more than for someone to push Kenji Johjima from his starting catcher role in Seattle (trade, benching, whatever), siting his alleged poor game-calling skills and the way pitchers respond to him in a post a couple weeks ago.

The problem losing with losing Johjima would be the lack of offensive production, especially if backup Jaime Burke got the majority of the starts.  That’s where top prospect Jeff Clement comes in.  His bat is major league ready, has been since last season, but there have been questions surrounding his defensive abilities.

Jason A. Churchill of Prospect Insider submitted his latest “Farm Report” in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, an edition that featured Clement’s defensive evolution.  It’s a great read and I urge you to check it out.  In short, Clement has “raised his defensive game from below average across the board to average or better in most areas,” according to Mariners catching coordinator Roger Hansen.  This is very good to hear for those of us who can’t wait for Clement to get into the big leagues.  If I was in charge I would be tempted to use him as a DH right now, risking some defensive development; but if he can be an effective defensive catcher sooner than later, that’s just icing on the cake.  At his current pace, Clement should be ready to take over next season, possibly sooner.