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New York Yankees: Clint Frazier Is Turning Around Slow Start To 2017

Despite a slow start to the 2017 regular season, New York Yankees top outfield prospect Clint Frazier is starting to turn things around.  

The highly touted New York Yankees prospect Clint Frazier may be best known for his hair and epic personality, but the on-field performance matters, too and his 2017 start with the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders hasn’t been kind to the 22-year-old.

Through his first seven games of the regular season, Fraizer owned a slash line of .217/.345/.348 with no home runs while owning the same amount of strikeouts as hits (5).



Then, on April 15 against the Buffalo Bisons at PNC Park, the No. 5 overall choice in the 2013 Draft seemed to have clicked and got back on track. Since that contest (in which he went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk), Frazier has 6-for-26 (.231) but has hit two home runs, totaled 14 bases and has reached base safely in six of the last seven games.

Frazier’s latest home run came on Saturday when he smashed a solo home run into the teeth of the wind off Indianapolis Indians’ starter Josh Lindblom in the third inning. That two-out blast was all the RailRiders needed to come away with a 1-0 shutout victory.

MLB Pipeline tabbed Frazier as New York’s second-best overall prospect on the farm thanks to his “lightning bat speed and raw power.” Since last season, he has improved pitch recognition and even had a relatively solid showcase in spring training.

In 22 games, he slashed .273/.267/.432 with one home run and eight RBIs in his third big league camp. Frazier played in 10 career spring training games with Cleveland in 2015 and 2016, but after being traded from the Indians to Yankees for Andrew Miller last season he got a shot in Tampa this February.



Although Pipeline lists 2017 as his major league ETA, that honestly depends on where the team stands come August and where his progression stands.

If Brett Gardner (2-for-his-last-22) continues to struggle and Frazier’s production begins to match his hype, then perhaps the brass could make a move for the kid to make his major league debut.

But let’s focus on the now. After a slow start, his stroke is presumably returning to form and can not only help in Scranton’s quest to repeat as Triple-A champs, but can also be called upon to help the big boys very soon.