Who’s playing third for the Yankee’s? Andujar is good, I’m not sure I trust him for the whole season. I like Torreyes as a utility player. Is there another third baseman in the system- or is there a free agent they should go for while they build up Andujar?

2. Clint Frazier has unlimited potential at the plate, but he’s ;lazy in the outfield- how do your stats address that? And my “lazy” assessment is from an eye view not statistical.

-Padraic Lillis

 

Andujar is definitely not the most concrete option at 3B due to his defense, while reports are that he’s cleaned it up there are still doubters for the moment. He really needs to show he’s a good option there in camp, no overthrows or clankers [he’s especially known for the former]. That being said, Bird was generally scouted as a below average defensive player as a minor leaguer. Just like when scouts said Bird had improved around a year ago before the public saw it, people in the Yankees organization are saying the same about Andujar. Bird has become solid at 1B, I hope to see similar things in Andujar. If I’m wrong and the team is wrong I can definitely see them shuffling Torres over to 3B for the rest of the year while giving Wade a legitimate shot at 2B. Yes, even with Drury’s presence. Some think higher of Drury than I do, I think he’s an plus super utility player in the making [please be a Prado type]. If Andujar doesn’t work out and essentially Wade replaces him on the roster, the roster will then be more left handed [something needed] and a LOT faster, so its not the worst thing. Andujar works as a great trade chip but even I have been underestimating him. His swing fundamentally has holes in it, but the guy makes so much hard contact stemming from bat speed that he’s gonna be a monster at the dish. He hits EVERYTHING. Seriously, look at his K%. Nobody with power like him should be striking out that little. Its important to note the following. At different levels of the minors Andujar stumbled significantly offensively [especially with weak contact] before figuring out whichever level he had been at. So there may be some serious growing pains at the beginning of his big league time offensively as well as defensively. If he ends up being a long term piece, that’s awesome, we just got to be patient with him. If not then he’s a great trade piece. Its a win-win. Andujar if given consistent playing time however could be an offensive force down the stretch. Also, for the record, we didn’t see the real Tyler Wade last year, nothing even close. Check out his AAA numbers if you want to get hyped [especially considering he was 22]. So to answer the question, they could go add someone outside the organization, but the best answer [though not the sexy answer] is to trust the farm and be patient. I rarely trust prospects to this degree but with Wade, Andujar, and Torres, their hit tools will translate. Drury and Torreyes already have plus hit tools, giving them great value in their specialized roles. Everything above being said, its highly possible if not probable none of Torres, Andujar, or Wade make the team out of Spring Training. Service time, defensive work, confidence, injury insurance, and AAA offensive work mark various reasons why we may not see that group until a month or so in. However, we will see lots of Drury and hopefully lots of Andujar.

2.

Good catch, I saw what you saw though I didn’t see it as laziness. He got awful reads, took awful routes, showed poor first step, and regularly had to make up for it with his legs. This behavior showed his motor was running way too fast, he was over thinking, he was pressing, he was in his head a ton. It looked like that to me, and it makes sense based on his track record. As a player who understands the importance of hustle, Frazier plays at 110% effort. So his first time in the show he was going to definitely have some pressing moments when he’s off balance or in his head, or trying too hard in general. In fact, this reflected offensively through his BB-K ratio in his brief call up. However there is good news. This is something that has happened every time he makes a new level, he struggles for 150-250 at bats, then starts mashing [especially relative to age] and playing plus plus defense. His Barrels/BBE in his first call up to the show was incredible [of players with 90 balls hit into play he ranked 31st out of 405 players] as was his foot speed [56th out of 451]. Never [in a full season] has he had a K rate over 24% at any level so he puts balls in play regularly. He regularly has a walk rate over league average and his strength is the opposite field. As a 23 year old who can do all of that, he’s got a lot of time to turn these already above average skills into one of the more insane all around games in…well the game. I’m a big fan. So in short, I think he just needs reps, kid needs to calm down and he can be whatever he wants to be.

 

 

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