#TBT- Todd Frazier, 3B, Chicago White Sox
@Hoover__26 June 9
Where do the careers of MLB greats really begin? Where is it that their All-Star progression truly kicks off? Is it their first big league game? Maybe their first as a pro? Or maybe, do many of their careers begin all the way down in Little League? In many cases, it does. However, in very few cases do elite MLB players get their first taste of baseball stardom in the Little League World Series (Boog Powell, Gary Sheffield and Lance Lynn also played in the LLWS, among others). Todd Frazier has been smashing home runs since his days with the Toms River Little League, and with an American League second best 19 this season, hasn’t slowed down a bit at age 30.
Frazier is on pace to top his career home run mark by over 15, as well as top the 100 RBI mark for the first time. And while his batting average may be down (his entire team has gone into a slump of late), his slugging percentage is the highest it’s ever been (baseball-reference.com). He is also on pace to have his lowest strikeout total of the last three seasons, which tells me that his average is bound to pick up. He is hitting the ball with consistency, they just need to find open grass (just a quick note, in all this talk about hitting, don’t lose sight of the fact that Frazier is top 30 all time in fielding percentage at third base). His power surge to start the year puts him in the top 25 in total fantasy points scored for batters (espn.com), and makes him a very strong fantasy contributor in one of the most high scoring years for his position (people were saying that third base was going to be a shallow spot this year, but in fact only Starting Pitcher and Outfield have more people totaling at least 280 fantasy points on the year). Plus, Frazier has something going for him that many of the other elite fantasy third baseman don’t. He is maintaining this insane fantasy production while batting the worst average in his career by 15 points. Four of the top five scorers at that position are setting career highs in batting average (Josh Donaldson is the only one in the top 5 not doing so, and the sixth highest scorer Matt Carpenter hasn’t had this average in three years). So, with all signs saying Frazier is bound to pick up his average, what will that do to the standings? If the long ball pace continues (which was almost single handedly keeping him in the top 25 for batters in fantasy points), and the average jumps back up to even 10 points below what it was last year (which would be .245), how much higher on the leaderboard does this week’s #TBT go? I think we could be looking at certainly a top 5 fantasy third baseman (he already is a top five pure third baseman, with Manny Machado and Daniel Murphy having eligibility but playing more innings elsewhere), and someone who could land in the top 20 in scoring for batters. Keep an eye out for this week’s #TBT, as his mind blowing power is sure to keep you entertained.
Frazier is on pace to top his career home run mark by over 15, as well as top the 100 RBI mark for the first time. And while his batting average may be down (his entire team has gone into a slump of late), his slugging percentage is the highest it’s ever been (baseball-reference.com). He is also on pace to have his lowest strikeout total of the last three seasons, which tells me that his average is bound to pick up. He is hitting the ball with consistency, they just need to find open grass (just a quick note, in all this talk about hitting, don’t lose sight of the fact that Frazier is top 30 all time in fielding percentage at third base). His power surge to start the year puts him in the top 25 in total fantasy points scored for batters (espn.com), and makes him a very strong fantasy contributor in one of the most high scoring years for his position (people were saying that third base was going to be a shallow spot this year, but in fact only Starting Pitcher and Outfield have more people totaling at least 280 fantasy points on the year). Plus, Frazier has something going for him that many of the other elite fantasy third baseman don’t. He is maintaining this insane fantasy production while batting the worst average in his career by 15 points. Four of the top five scorers at that position are setting career highs in batting average (Josh Donaldson is the only one in the top 5 not doing so, and the sixth highest scorer Matt Carpenter hasn’t had this average in three years). So, with all signs saying Frazier is bound to pick up his average, what will that do to the standings? If the long ball pace continues (which was almost single handedly keeping him in the top 25 for batters in fantasy points), and the average jumps back up to even 10 points below what it was last year (which would be .245), how much higher on the leaderboard does this week’s #TBT go? I think we could be looking at certainly a top 5 fantasy third baseman (he already is a top five pure third baseman, with Manny Machado and Daniel Murphy having eligibility but playing more innings elsewhere), and someone who could land in the top 20 in scoring for batters. Keep an eye out for this week’s #TBT, as his mind blowing power is sure to keep you entertained.
Regardless, let’s all enjoy Ortiz’s final run and marvel at his agelessness. Sit back, enjoy a container of Big Papi’s Kitchen Fresh Salsa, and watch as one of the past few decades’ most defining players has a throwback season of epic proportions.