Frazier stays hot against former team
Columbus had to wait almost a calendar year to finally see prized prospect Clint Frazier play baseball in person and learn what all the fuss has been about.
Unfortunately for Clippers fans, Frazier has made it painfully clear that he no longer plays in the Cleveland Indians organization.
Frazier rocked his former team with a solo home run in the first inning and a double to the wall in left in the second in Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre’s 5-0 victory over the Clippers on Wednesday night at Huntington Park.
On Tuesday, he hit a two-run homer in the first game of the series.
The New York Yankees demanded that Frazier, a right-handedhitting outfielder, be the key player with pitchers Justus Sheffield and Ben Heller in the shocking trade-deadline deal that sent reliever Andrew Miller to Cleveland last July. At the time, Frazier had played five games for the Clippers after a call-up from Akron, and all of them were on the road.
“It’s a unique situation,” he said. “There are a lot of players and coaches over there that I played with four years. It was bittersweet having to leave, but everything happens for a reason. It came as a shock, and I didn’t know how to handle it. But I’ve settled in here.”
Triple-A has been no problem for Frazier. He has eight home runs and 28 RBI and is batting .253. Before the game, he ranked first in the International League in doubles (14) and sacrifice flies (six), seventh in home runs and third in extra-base hits (21).
Baseball America lists Frazier, 22, as the Yankees’ No. 2 prospect.
“I’m happy with the way the season is going, but I would like to hit for a higher average,” he said. “It’s a mental adjustment playing at this level. Guys know how to pitch to you better in different counts and situations than in double-A. You have to adapt, and I think I’ve been handling it pretty well.”
Part of being a Yankee is adjusting to the daily media frenzy, particularly the tabloids. It was big news that Frazier was jolted having to cut his long red hair to conform to team policy.
“It takes some time to adjust to the New York media, and I had a few hiccups in spring training with the hair stories they were writing about,” he said. “I’m trying to look the part and play the part (of being a Yankee). I think I held my own in spring training and showed the guys what I can do. It was fun for me because I got to play with some guys I will be playing with this year, next year or in the future.”