Yankees Clint Frazier Making a Case for September Call Up

Although he initially struggled with the transition to Triple-A, New York Yankees top prospect Clint Frazier is starting to make a push for a big league call up in September.

While outfielder Clint Frazier’s overall line in the International League is still far below his usual production, the New York Yankees newly arrived consensus top prospect is starting to heat up with Scranton Wilkes-Barre.

Since being promoted to Triple-A on July 26th, Frazier has hit just .256/.287/.389 in 94 plate appearances. That’s a pretty big step down from the .276/.356/.452 slash line in 391 PA he put up for Double-A Akron earlier in the year.

There are some recent signs of improvement, however. In the fifth inning of Scranton’s 7-4 victory over the Pawtucket Red Sox on Friday night, Frazier launched a no-doubt two run home run to left-center off of Sean O’Sullvan to tie the game at three. It was his second homer since the trade.

Frazier has six multi-hit efforts in his last 11 games, going 14-for-45 with six runs and four RBI in that stretch.

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The 21-year-old outfielder was the big prize of the Yankees trade deadline prospect haul. He ranks 20th on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list and 21st on Baseball America’s Midseason Top 100. He seems like the next logical big name to get the call to the Bronx following the promotions of top prospects Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, and Tyler Austin.

Of course, the Yankees front office waited until those three sluggers had nothing left to prove in Triple-A before bringing them up to the big leagues. While Frazier has looked better of late, he may not have shown everything he needs to with Scranton-Wilkes-Barre.

If the Yankees see Clint Frazier as a potential key cog in their 2017 lineup, it may make sense to give him a low pressure audition now to see what he can do. It doesn’t hurt that the promotion of their top prospect would also further invigorate the fan base and generate even more good vibes for the team’s youth movement.

The biggest obstacle for Frazier’s promotion is just the sheer number of other options the Yankees have. They already are juggling three outfielders for two spots, with Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner, and Aaron Hicks all pushing for playing time.

Even in the minors it isn’t clear that Frazier would be first in line. Mason Williams has been red-hot since his return from the DL, and has already shown he can make things happen in the majors during a brief stint with the Yankees in 2015. Ben Gamel is long overdue for an extended shot with New York after two excellent Triple-A campaigns. Finally, don’t forget that Rob Refsnyder is still kicking around waiting for another chance.

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If Clint Frazier has any chance at a promotion to the Yankees when rosters expand in September, he will need to really tear the cover off the ball for the next two weeks and force the issue. Otherwise, there may just be too many guys for limited roster spots.