Yankees: Aaron Judge and Clint Frazier: Different, Yet Similar Players
While the Yankees two biggest outfield prospects are physically different, statistically they are similar, but not in a good way.
Clint Frazier and Aaron Judge are two of the Yankees major prospects, and both are ranked in the top 50 prospects by MLB Pipeline. Frazier was placed at 24, while Judge at 45, respectably. They join five other Yankees on the top 100-prospect list, tied for the most prospects in the list by a single team, with seven.
Both Judge and Frazier will likely make the Major League club at some point in the season. Judge will probably be on the Opening Day roster, with Frazier seeing his call-up at some time in the season. Likely competing for one spot, the right field role, how do both players stack up against each other?
Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
The first thing that has to address is they way each of these men are built. Judge is more like a tight end in football than an outfielder, with his six foot seven inch, 275-pound frame. To put his massiveness into perspective, he is one inch taller and 30 pounds heavier than Giancarlo Stanton. Frazier, on the other hand, is built more like a ballplayer. At six foot one, 190 pounds the “smaller” Frazier is one the quest to become, as he says, “The world’s most ripped ginger.” Frazier’s long, majestic red hair has become his signature, and hopefully manager Joe Girardi lets him keep it.
Aside from their obvious physical differences, Judge and Frazier statistically are very similar. Frazier has spent four years in Minor League Baseball, advancing from rookie ball to AAA. He has put together a line of .275/.355/488, belting 50 home runs and driving home 205. Judge has spent three years in professional baseball, progressing from low A to the Major Leagues. He owns a career slash line, including both the Majors and Minor Leagues, of .273/.367/.465, adding 60 home runs and 225 runs batted in.
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These are similar scary numbers for two of the biggest prospects not only in the Yankees organization, but in Major League Baseball But the one statistic that Judge and Frazier are similar in is strikeouts, and that is drawing a lot of red flags. Judge has struck out 415 times in 375 professional games, while Frazier went down on strikes 469 times over 416 games. Breaking that down a little more shows that Judge averages 1.10 strikeouts per game, compared to Frazier’s 1.12.
Apparently, no one wants to strikeout when they go up to the plate, but its part of the game. If it doesn’t happen in the Minors, then it will be in the Major Leagues, where pitchers throw harder and nastier. Aaron Judge found that out the hard way, striking out in exactly half of his 84 at-bats in the Major Leagues in 2016. What does that mean for Frazier, who is already striking out at a higher rate than Judge?
Yankees Need Changes From Both Players
Clint Frazier will remain in the Minor Leagues until he can control his strikeout problem, which has been going down. His 122 strikeouts in 2016 were the lowest of his career, which is a promising sign. But things need to change drastically, and Frazier needs to make more consistent contact. Judge, on the other hand, needs to utilize his massive frame and incredible power to be more than a .179 Major League hitter.
These two potential superstars are falling into the new trend that has become acceptable in Major League Baseball. Power hitters who strikeout often has become the new standard, and that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon. Frazier and Judge, as different and similar as they may be, need to both fix their common flaw to help the Yankees be successful.
