White Sox Call Up Former First-Round Pick To Shake Up Outfield
The White Sox are reportedly shaking up their outfield once again.Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times tweeted Sunday night that the White Sox are calling up Clint Frazier for Sunday’s series finale against the Royals.
In 16 games in Triple-A Charlotte, Frazier is slashing .375/.478/.839 with seven home runs and a 1.317 OPS. The 28-year-old was signed by the White Sox in April, just days after getting released by the Texas Rangers.
The White Sox are expected to designate Jake Marisnik for assignment to make room for Frazier. If Frazier can translate any of his Triple-A success to the big leagues, he would provide the White Sox with a nice platoon player for Gavin Sheets.
Frazier is a better defender than Sheets and is a right-handed hitter, which would allow Pedro Grifol to give Sheets extra rest when there is a left-handed starter on the mound, as Sheets has struggled against lefties.
It could also be a sign that Sheets is heading to the IL after being left out of Saturday’s lineup with wrist soreness. They could place him on the IL and give him extra time to recover if they feel the injury is serious.
According to James Feegan of the Athletic, Frazier has worked with the Charlotte Knights hitting coach Cameron Seitzer. When Fraizer was in Texas’ minor league system, he had a closed stance. Seitzer told Feegan that Frazier has opened up his stance more, which has allowed him to make his forward move into the ball and stay linear. This has enabled him to stay on the pitch longer.
Frazier was once a highly touted prospect. He was drafted by Cleveland with the fifth overall pick in 2013. Unfortunately, things have not panned out. In six MLB seasons (five with the Yankees), he has a .238 batting average and owns a career 0.3 WAR.
His best season came in 2019 when he hit .267 with 12 home runs and 38 RBIs, all of which are career highs.
This will not be Frazier’s first time playing in Chicago. Last season he played 19 games with the Cubs, hitting .216/.365/.297 over 45 plate appearances. A poor showing in Triple-A Iowa and a mid-season appendectomy led to the Cubs parting ways with the former first-round pick.
Frazier hopes that his success in Charlotte will carry over and he can stick in his MLB home.