Clint Frazier rolling for @swbrailriders:
2-for-2 with RBI, 2 R & BB
6 RBI in past 4 G#Yankees No. 2/@MLB's No. 21:https://t.co/yOJKLh6RRg pic.twitter.com/7YYUwTQ48q— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 6, 2017
Clint Frazier, one of the most highly touted prospects in the New York Yankees farm system, is showing no mercy in his second stint at SWB.
Ever since the New York Yankees acquired super prospect Clint Frazier in exchange for Andrew Miller last season, we were waiting for one thing: for his stat line to match his borderline flawless skills.
In his first and only 25 games for the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2016, the 22-year-old slashed .228/.278/.396 while striking out in 29.7 percent of his at-bats.
Given how this was his first taste of the minor league’s most MLB-ready talent and how lightening quick his bat speed is, predicting a turnaround was a safe bet. Over the last week in his second stint with the RailRiders, a turnaround is exactly what’s happening.
After struggling in his first 19 games (.217 BA in 81 PA), the organization’s second-best prospect owns a .381/.533/.762 slash line with two home runs, his latest on May 3 off left-hander Cesar Ramos, who has 346.2 innings of major league time under his belt.
In Saturday’s 10-2 win over the Syracuse Chiefs, Frazier went 2-for-2 including two RBIs, two walks and a run scored continuing to light the flame that is a hot streak following a slow start.
Over Frazier’s first 46 at-bats of the season, the righty slashed .196/.291/.370 with just one home run and an OPS .660 OPS. Over his last Last 44, that slash line has spiked to .318/.429/.614. He has also hit three home runs, driven in nine runs — six of them coming over his last five games — and has posted an OPS of 1.024.
This surge is certainly intriguing, as Pipeline lists 2017 as his major league ETA but given the fact that Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks have done absolutely nothing to lose their jobs, one has to wonder if the game’s 21st-best prospect’s burst, if it continues over time, will be enough to warrant a promotion to the Bronx.
For now, however, he’s the future. The Yankees are currently in first place in the American League East and with a win over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday, they have climbed to 10 games over .500 and are currently producing the greatest WAR in baseball from the outfield.
No pressure, but watching all the components come together for Clint Frazier has been and will continue to be a sight to see.
