The Cleveland Indians rarely take chances with their first round picks and as a result they have drafted very few players of impact other than the one high school position prospect that they did take in Francisco Lindor.That changed last night as the Indians used the fifth pick of the draft on Georgia high schooler Clint Frazier.
Frazier was thought to have been drafted as a centerfielder with a possibility of being moved to a corner outfielder in the future,but the team announced Frazier as a third baseman,which would be interesting to try as his bat would be far more valuable if Frazier could play the hot corner.
Frazier has top notch bat speed,which means that he has power potential and runs well enough to have a chance to stick in center if that is what the Indians decide to do with him.
Power potential might be a conservative projection as he certainly was the top power hitter from the high school side of the draft and ranks with the Cubs Kris Bryant (2nd pick) as the best in the entire selection process.
Another thing that I liked about Frazier in reading articles and then seeing him at the draft is his personality,which seems to be the hustling go-getter similar to Nick Swisher's with the current Tribe.
Players that play that way and then are a bit gregarious are always going to be popular with the fan base.
Frazier has that type of personality.
High school hitters are always a work in progress and then they usually take a decent amount of time to develop,so don't expect to see Frazier with Cleveland anytime soon.
However,if all goes according to plan,Frazier could be a power bat that the Indians have not had in their farm system in years and I'm all in with that and the selection.
Due to spotty internet,I'll try to be back later with a look at the Pirates picks of Austin Meadows and Reese McGuire and on the seldomly updated satellite site,a look at the Giants interesting late first rounder...
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