Captain’s Log: Jake Fraley walks (and trots) his way toward opportunity

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Captain’s Log: Jake Fraley walks (and trots) his way toward opportunity

Post by Sexymarinersfan » Tue Jun 08, 2021 3:27 am

The recent knee injury to Mariners center fielder Kyle Lewis has opened the door for outfielders Jake Fraley and Taylor Trammell to seize the opportunity and run with it.

In Fraley’s case, it might not involve much running at all, though that might not diminish his potential impact. Chances are he’ll probably start by walking.

Fraley has taken 16 walks in his first 46 plate appearances for the Mariners this season, one that was interrupted by a lengthy injured list stint in April and May for a left quad strain. He has nearly three times as many walks as he does hits (six).

Fraley’s slash line? How often do you see a .207/.489/.463?

Fraley hit his first big-league home run Thursday against the Angels, stole a base and — of course — added two walks. The sample might be small, but if there’s a poster child for the Mariners’ dominate-the-zone mantra (formerly control-the-zone), it might well be him.

“It’s kind of something that I’ve always prided myself in from college and obviously in the minors,” he said. “I’ve always had that kind of niche, that I make good swing decisions. And now, I’m obviously sticking to that. This is my third year with the Mariners, and they’ve always preached controlling the zone. First you’ve got to buy into it, then find a way to apply it in the box.”

[Tweet]https://twitter.com/hr_mlb/status/14014 ... 47332?s=19[/tweet]

In the past, though, Fraley usually hit his way on base. He was a .328 hitter at LSU and has a .288 career average in the minors with a .365 on-base percentage. But he’s mostly struggled in his time in the big leagues, though the sample has been small. He hit .150 in 40 at-bats in 2019 and then .154 in 26 at-bats one year ago.

Fraley got off to an 0-for-15 start in spring training but continued to work on his swing and setup. He had 11 hits in his final 29 at-bats of the spring and made the Opening Day roster. But he suffered the quad injury a week into the season. He hit .364 in seven games on a rehab stint with Triple-A Tacoma and returned to the Mariners on May 31.

He’s been walking ever since, though he’s also got his home run trot down pretty well. Aside from the three-run home run he hit Thursday, Fraley connected for a grand slam in Saturday’s 12-5 loss to the Angels.

“He’s made some nice adjustments. He’s created a little more length out front of the swing, and he certainly does a great job controlling the strike zone. He just doesn’t swing unless it’s right there,” Servais said.

“I think there’s a misconception by some people that he’ll sit there and say, ‘He’s just looking to take a walk.’ But he’s just looking not to swing at bad pitches.”

According to Servais, Fraley is in a good place right now.

“It’s just enjoying the moment and staying in the moment, focusing on what’s there today,” Servais said.

Settling in
Rookie pitcher Logan Gilbert made his fifth career start Sunday against the Angels. He’s gotten incrementally better each time out, as he’s tried to mix in his secondary offerings to get hitters off his high-octane fastballs up in the strike zone. That hasn’t always been easy for him.

But Sunday, Gilbert allowed one earned run over five innings (105 pitches) in winning his first major-league game. He walked four and struck out seven. Gilbert did it by getting a career-best 20 swinging strikes, including nine on his slider and three more on his newest pitch, the changeup he developed a year ago at the alternate site in Tacoma.

“He made some big pitches,” Servais said. “That’s going to be key for Logan, his confidence and ability to land those off-speed pitches. That’s probably the most changeups he’s ever thrown in a professional game. It was a good day to have it.”

Gilbert (4.98 ERA) said the changeup is going to have to be a pitch he keeps throwing to give opposing hitters a different look.

“I felt a little more comfortable with it as I went on. Taking the comfort (with the pitch) into the game is the main thing. We were in situations today where whether it feels good or not, you have to work it in there. You have to get them off the fastball.”

By no means is the 24-year-old righty a finished product. But you can see why the Mariners took him in the first round in the 2018 draft and why he was considered the organization’s top pitching prospect.

Said Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford of Gilbert: “He’s electric.”

Eight ain’t enough
Injuries across the landscape of baseball are way up, as Jayson Stark pointed out recently. There are a number of contributing factors to this epidemic, of course.

As of May 31, there were 244 players on the injured list across the sport, an average of more than eight per team. There wasn’t a single day all last season when that many players were on the IL at once.

Some teams in baseball have had much better luck than others in avoiding a crush of injuries this season. The Mariners, however, are certainly not one of them.

Get this: The Mariners have more roster transactions (73) than any other team in baseball. The club also has the most injured players on the IL — 15. And Saturday, the team used its 48th different player this season. That’s also the most in the big leagues.

But here’s the real stunner (well, it was for me): Only eight players who were on the Opening Day roster have been on the active roster the entire season. Eight! Those eight are J.P. Crawford, Mitch Haniger, Tom Murphy, Kyle Seager, Chris Flexen, Yusei Kikuchi, Rafael Montero and Justus Sheffield.

And Saturday, Kikuchi suffered a right-knee contusion when he was hit by a comebacker. The good news is there’s a chance he might not need an IL stint.

Not all the news (such as losing James Paxton to Tommy John surgery, Kyle Lewis to a knee injury) is awful. Justin Dunn feels he’ll only miss one start after going on the 10-day IL with right shoulder inflammation. Marco Gonzales came back from a monthlong IL stint last week, and reliever Kendall Graveman, who has yet to allow a run this season, could return from the COVID-19 IL this week.

International intrigue
The WBSC Baseball Americas Olympic Qualifier in Florida concluded Saturday with Team USA defeating Venezuela in the final 4-2. That locked up a trip to the summer Olympics for Team USA.

Mariners minor leaguer Eric Filia had a home run in the victory Saturday and hit .313 in 16 at-bats in the qualifier. Team USA joins Japan, Korea, Mexico and Israel as having qualified for the Olympics. Filia is a member of the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers.

The sixth and final participating National Team will come out of the WBSC Baseball Final Qualifier later this month. The Dominican Republic team, which includes Mariners minor leaguers Julio Rodríguez (High-A Everett) and Luis Liberato (Triple-A), will have a chance to qualify.

Rodríguez hit .458 in the qualifier with two home runs and seven RBIs. Liberato hit .444 with three home runs.

“I think playing in international competitions are really beneficial for younger players,” Servais said. “The level of competition, the intensity, the pride factor that’s involved in those games is awesome for young guys to go through.”
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