For the 24-year-old Georgia native, “consistency” has no place in his baseball story. From teams, to cities, to positions, and even to hair styles, nothing has been consistent for Clint Frazier.
His professional baseball life began in 2013 when he was drafted fifth overall by the Cleveland Indians. He spent four seasons in the minors with the Indians and played for five of Cleveland’s farm teams. In 2016, we was in AAA ball at Columbus when he was traded to the Yankees.
Frazier, along with Justus Sheffield and two other players were shipped to New York for Yankees bullpen arm Andrew Miller.
In 2017, Frazier made his major league debut going 2-4 with a double and a homerun. He finished his 2017 MLB season with the Yankees in October with four home runs, 17 RBI and slashed .231/.268/.448.
2018 had a lot of promise for Frazier, but a collision with the outfield wall in Spring Training made baseball activities difficult.
Here, he makes the catch, but falls backwards and hits the back of his head on the wall. He stayed in the game, according to the New York Times, but the headaches eventually overcame him days later and affected him all season long.
As a result of the concussion, Frazier did not break camp with the Yankees, and played only 15 games in the majors.
He did not hit a home run, only had 3 doubles, and had a .353 SLG% during the 2018 MLB season
Frazier’s ceiling is much higher than what he has shown at the majors, and he plays an electric outfield. He has played a majority of left field, but has played some right, and had one game at CF in 2018. If he breaks camp with the Yankees, he will compete for the left field position with 35-year-old Brett Gardner.
Frazier was very outspoken on his goal to take playing time from Gardner, as seen in an interview he gave when reporting to Spring Training.
Another injury to Jacoby Ellsbury also helps Frazier’s chances at making the Yankees’ roster.
Frazier will have to stay healthy to take that starting job, but his skill set as a hitter and fielder should give him a good chance to nab the job.
Frazier will also have to keep his fiery red hair in check. While playing for Cleveland, Frazier was able to grow his hair out as long as he wants.
Charles Wenzelberg via new York PostFrazier had to cut his hair in 2017 when manager Joe Girardi felt his hair was a “distraction” according to the New York Post.
Now Frazier’s fantastic head of hair is hidden underneath his ball cap and hopefully a Yankees cap is on his head when the MLB season starts and not a Scranton Wilkes-Barre Rail Riders hat. Frazier is looking to prove he deserves to consistently be in a major league starting lineup.
Featured Image: Sports Illustrated
