Matt Frazier Crushing The Ball, Climbing The Ladder, In High-A
With so many moves happening around the Major League Baseball Trade Deadline, it can be hard to keep things straight. There are so many changes going on with the Major League club that the effects on the Minor League teams can sometimes be forgotten. As new prospects filter into the system, they have to find their spot on their new teams while player personnel moves need to be made. As guys are added to their respective Minor League teams, some guys dream of playing Major League Baseball end, while others get one step closer to achieving their goal of making the Big Leagues. While the obvious names like Mason Martin, Cole Tucker, and Oneil Cruz are going to be high on people's watch list, there is another guy making strides in the lower levels of the Minor Leagues who is looking to make the jump to the upper levels.
The player is outfielder Matt Frazier, and if you haven't heard of him before, he is having a break-out season in High-A Greensboro. The 22-year-old has played in 70 games for the Grasshoppers this season and has hit .312 with 19 home runs and 48 RBI with an OPS of .973. He is the leader in both home runs and RBI for the Grasshoppers and went from hitting no home runs in 43 games for short-season ball in 2019 to having 19 already in 27 more games this season. With several new players getting ready to enter A-Ball from the draft and recent trades, Frazier may be the one who benefits, with a mid-season promotion thanks to the big strides he has made this season. Today, we look at Frazier's 2021 season so far and how he projects for the Pirate's future.
Breakout 2021 Season
Prior to the 2021 season, Matt Frazier was not a name that was on many Pirates fan's radar in terms of a prospect to watch. His first professional season was 2019, and he spent the year with the short-season West Virginia Black Bears. In 43 games with the Black Bears, Frazier managed to hit just .221 with 15 RBI and just six extra-base hits to his name. However, after training back in his hometown of Fresno, California in 2020, Frazier has returned and looked better than ever at the plate. He is hitting .312 in 70 games this season, but it has been his massive power numbers that have turned heads. He went from hitting zero home runs and six extra-base hits in 2019 to hitting 19 home runs and having 35 total extra-base hits in his second professional season. One thing that has really helped him is his emphasis on plate discipline, and his ability to draw more walks.
This season, Frazier has put a focus on plate discipline after posting a 9.3% walk rate in his first professional season. However, through 258 Minor League at-bats this season, he has been able to raise that to 12.3% in 2021. Whether it is because he is a more feared hitter or that he is seeing the ball better, it is a big plus for the 22-year-old's resume. However, unlike a lot of power hitters, it doesn't seem like Frazier is swinging out of his shoes when he does get pitches to hit. His strikeout rate sits right around league average at 23.5% which means that when he swings at pitches in the strike zone, he normally ends up making contact. Frazier has a BABIP of .350 this season, showing that when he does put the ball in play good things usually follow.
Defensively, he has shown an ability to play all three outfield positions, which is a big plus for his versatility down the road. However, a majority of his work has come in left field, where he owns a .968 fielding percentage this season and has two outfield assists. He isn't a burner in any sense of the word, but he does have decent speed that helps him cover ground in the outfield, and cause havoc on the base paths. He has 12 stolen bases this season in 18 attempts as he emerges as a potential five-tool player. The question is how is his bat going to translate when he gets to the upper levels of the Minor Leagues? I feel like we will be getting that answer very shortly after the trade deadline, and time will tell from there whether or not we might see him in a Pirates uniform in the future.
Fast Track to the Majors
Being that he is 23-years-old already if Frazier shows that his bat can stay hot as he climbs the system, look for it to be a fast road to the Major Leagues. They say Double-A is what separates the MLB pretenders from the MLB contenders, so we will get a good look at just what Frazier is all about. While it is nice that he is having a breakout season, the question is will it be sustainable down the road. From the video I have seen on Frazier, he has a nice smooth swing that keeps the barrel of the bat in the zone for a long time. This combined with his bat speed helps generate the power and is leading to the offensive tear that we have seen him on. He is currently on a nine-game hitting streak and has two home runs in his last three games, which is going to force the Pirates to promote him to Altoona soon.
Currently, in Double-A, the Pirates have a crowded outfield that including Canaan Smith-Njigba, Cal Mitchell, and newly acquired Jack Suwinski. One of those guys would have to be moved up to make room for Frazier, as Altoona already has 27 men on their active roster, and with recently acquired Carter Bins joining the group that will put them at their limit of 28 players. However, with Indianapolis in need of outfield help, Mitchell seems like the likely candidate to get called up to Triple-A, after hitting .293 with 11 home runs and 39 RBI in 232 at-bats this season. That would open up a spot for Frazier to get his much-deserved call to Double-A, so he can show what he can do against some of the upper-level Minor League pitching.
With the way, he is hitting the ball now, look for Frazier to earn the call up to Double-A sooner rather than later. I don't see him skipping Double-A and going to Triple-A, simply because this is the first time in his career that he has hit for both average and power. He isn't yet on the Pirates Top 30 prospects list, but a good showing in Double-A could have him there by next season. The things I like about Frazier are his eye at the plate and the raw power numbers that have emerged as he matures as a player. The things that worry me are the fact that his numbers are way higher than they have ever been, and he does still strike out at a pretty good clip. Only time will tell how he develops in the upper levels of the Minor Leagues, but right now he is absolutely tearing the cover all the ball and making a name for himself.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (38-63) wrap up their three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers (60-42) tonight at 7:05 pm. Chad Kuhl (3-5, 4.38) takes the hill on the back of a 2.47 ERA over his last six starts for the Pirates as he takes on Freddy Peralta (7-2, 2.29) for the Brewers. You can watch the game live on AT&T Sportsnet, listen on 93.7 The Fan, or follow along with us on Twitter by following @Buccos_Cove.
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