Stoking the fire
Yankees have hot prospect in Frazier
TAMPA, Fla. — The Yankees’ fascinating rebuild-on-the-run season comes to a close Sunday in The Bronx, but 1,140 miles away, hope continues to play.
Here, at Instructional League at the team’s minor league complex, Clint Frazier streaked into second with a double.
It was the powerful Gary Sanchez who took the Yankees by storm and spurred a turnaround the final two months of the season. It won’t be long before Frazier is there in the middle of the lineup with Sanchez, wreaking havoc.
Frazier is fire to Sanchez’s ice.
“I’m a phone call away from the big leagues,’’ Frazier told The Post. “I’m going to be ready when it’s time.’’
Off the field, Frazier, who turned 22 last month, just bought his first house, in the northeast Atlanta suburbs.
“It’s an older area to get away from the college life and it’s exciting to see what it’s like to be a home owner,’’ the outfielder said.
This has been a year of growth for Frazier, who the Indians took with the fifth pick of the 2013 draft.
“This year was really good for me,’’ Frazier said. “I had a really strong outing in Double-A up to a point. I went through a struggle, I think an 0-for-25, somehow got promoted to Triple-A during that struggle, and then I was traded.
“I went from playing really good to mediocre, and it was good for me because I thought that I had to figure it out,’’ said Frazier, who played 119 games for three teams, batting .263 with 16 home runs, a .335 on-base percentage and a .447 slugging percentage. “When I got over to the Yankees, I started pressing, I felt like I had to do more than I had ever tried to do.’’
Just be yourself, that was the trick to getting back on track.
“I feel at ease with myself and I feel good with the people who are surrounding me,’’ Frazier said.
Instructional League is about more than playing games. Under Yankees VP of player development Gary Denbo and his staff, players come together in many ways.
“They are unifying the group,’’ Frazier said.
It’s a fun time.
“Friday I had to lip-sync a song, ‘Ain’t No Sunshine.’ ’’ Frazier said of the Bill Withers classic. “Guys were laughing. Kind of a way to break the ice.’’
When Clint Frazier makes it to Yankee Stadium, what are the fans going to see?
“A guy who is very excited to be on the field at all times,’’ he said. “I truly love this game and I am here to get better. I’m here to put myself in a position to be successful next year and to get myself a chance to help the team win in the big leagues.
“I want to be a high energy guy. I’m going to give it my all and I am going to go out there and just have fun,’’ Frazier said of his mission statement. “I want the fans to know that I enjoy playing baseball and I am there to win.’’
The Yankees gave up much, trading Andrew Miller to the Indians, but you can see from Frazier’s words and his blossoming talent why he was acquired.
“He’s a middle-of-the-order guy, I really like him,’’ one scout said. “He is advanced beyond his years.’’
Frazier said having Alex Rodriguez visit was tremendous.
“I’ve met a lot of people who are very important people,’’ Frazier said as he leaned against a fence at Lou Gehrig Field, “but I was in awe, saying, ‘Wow, that’s Alex Rodriguez and everybody was staring at him.’ It’s so awesome to be surrounded by as many great people as the Yankees have in this organization.
“It’s not every day you get to stand next to a guy like Alex Rodriguez. Whether he is speaking directly to me or somebody else, I’m listening. I want to soak up whatever he’s got to offer.’’
Frazier wants to continue to develop to make the most of his talents and is bold enough to put his dreams on the table.
“I want to be ‘that guy’ people stare at,’’ he said.
Fire and ice. This will be fun.