New York Yankees Report Card: Clint Frazer, the next big Yankee star?

New York Yankees outfielder, Clint Frazier.
May 25, 2019; Kansas City, MO, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Clint Frazier (77) dives for the ball against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning in the second game of a double header at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees have much to do this offseason to address the team’s problems, causing it to have an early exit in several postseasons in a row. This offseason will prioritize resigning DJ LeMahieu and will try to patch up the pitching rotation. One area they will not have to address is the outfield at Yankee Stadium. The main reason they won’t have to look to improve there is due to the resurrection of outfielder Clint Frazier.

Clint Frazier has now played part of four seasons with the New York Yankees. The Yankees saw a fast bat with Clint Frazier and a possible future Yankee star, but they also saw a player with poor fielding skills. The fielding skills have caused him to spend as much time on the Scranton Wilkes/Barre shuttle as on the field at Yankees Stadium. That poor playing continued to dog him until this year when a newly transform Frazier showed up.

Clint Frazier’s 2020 report card shows an A+.

This reincarnation started right at the beginning of the season. He showed up in his first game, being the only player to wear a safety mask. To many, this showed a new, more mature Frazier. He vowed to wear the mask to protect his fellow players throughout the season, and he did that except for a few games near the end of the season. That is compared to a player who refused to talk to the media after playing poorly and a boyish stint in which he removed everything Yankees from his social media when sent down to the minor.

But the big change in Frazier this past season was his remarkable defense in the field, the area that he in the past was most criticized for. In 2017 he had a miserable fielding percentage of only .933 in right field when replacing the injured Aaron Judge. In the following years, it didn’t get much better. But this season, he shined in the right field with a vastly improved .981 and even better left field with a perfect 1.000 defense. At times it seemed that he was flying all over the field to make amazing catches.

Frazier was also hot at the plate. He ended the shortened 2020 season batting .267 with 8 home runs; that’s the equivalent of 22 in a regular-season witch is really nice. But even more impressive was his ability to get hits. He batted in 26 runners, that the equivalent of 71 RBI’s. He also drew 25 walks. That’s third in walks while playing in only 39 games.

Frazier continued his excellent play into the postseason, going 2 for 7 with a .286 batting average and a 1.000 OPS, and a homer to his name.

Frazier’s big break came in July of 2016 when the Indians traded Clint to the Yankees in a multi-trade that got the Indians Andrew Miller. Clint was assigned the triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Rail Riders. In 2017 Clint played in 73 games for the Rail Riders amassed 42 RBI’s, a batting average of .257 with 12 home runs. He played only 73 games because he was called up to the stadium on July 1st of 2017. Big Red or Red Thunder, as he is called, enamored himself to Yankee fans on July 8th, when he hit his first career walk-off home run, giving the Yankees a win over the Brewers.

Regardless of his improved play, he wasn’t in the starting lineup at the beginning of the season. When Aaron Judge was injured, he found himself back in the Bronx. He did nothing but impress, and manager Aaron Boone finally awarded him a permanent place in the Yankee lineup. Now with his new status, he will show the Yankees his tremendous worth to the team. He could be the next big Yankee star.