I’d be lying if I said Todd Frazier was my first choice for a free agent third baseman this past offseason. Much like the rest of the Mets fan base, I was clamoring for them to sign someone like Mike Moustakas. They could have signed him for a few years, and he definitely fit the type for a solid power-hitting third baseman.
The Mets, being the bargain hunters that they’ve always been, sign Frazier instead. I didn’t love his numbers with the Yankees last year, or even with the White Sox before the trade deadline. Between his time with both teams, he only put up a slash line of .213 /.344 ./428 with an OPS of .772. By comparison, Moustakas looked much better on paper last year with .272 /.314 /.521 with an OPS of .835. And he’s three years younger than Frazier.
But the Frazier, in the early going, is doing more than enough to prove his signing was more than just a clubhouse presence. Sure, that aspect is invaluable to the Mets right now as well. Everyone is absolutely head over heels for the whole “salt and pepper” bit when the Mets put the ball in play.
As of right now, Frazier’s slash line is .291/.438/.491 with his highest career OPS to date of .921. Beating out his career OPS in 2012 when he played for the Reds. Frazier’s walk rate has been crucial in his offense boost, it’s at a career-high 20.5% after a career-high 14.4% last year.
Frazier is making harder contact at the plate as well, his hard hit % is up to 45 after 32.2% last season and well above his career average of 33.2%.
The veteran Frazier was recently told Tyler Kepner of the New York Times, “Everybody talks about age, but I feel like I’m one of the hardest workers out there at age 32, and some of these other guys too on this team.”
It’s true, you would never know that most of this team sits on the older side of 30. And Frazier certainly doesn’t look as though he’s aging out on the field. He ranks among third among all regular third baseman with 0.9 fWAR, trailing only Matt Chapman (1.3) and Kris Bryant (1.0). He’s also playing his usual solid defense at third with one DRS and a 2.1 UZR.
It’s early, but it might be safe to say that playing on this side of New York certainly agrees with the ToddFather.
