Cleveland Guardians 2023 Top 50 Prospects, No. 46 INF Dayan Frias
As the future of the organization prepares for a new year and spring training to begin, there’s no better time to bring you the Cleveland Baseball Insiders top 50 prospects for the upcoming 2023 season.
The Guardians are widely regarded as having one of the deepest and top farm systems in all of baseball. So deep, in fact, that it was very difficult to trim the list down to just 50 players I think could have an impact at the MLB level. I probably could easily have ended up listing 75 or more players.
I am implementing the Fangraphs future value grading scale which you will be able to locate under each player video. Future Value is a grade on the 20-80 scale that maps to anticipated annual WAR production during the player’s first six years of service.
My rankings are based off seeing the players live, watching video and having conversations with other evaluators and writers. While prospect lists are fun and entertaining for fans, they are not an end-all-be-all in terms of who make it eventually to the major leagues. Remember, Jose Ramirez was never a top 100 prospect nationally and Oscar Gonzalez wasn't even a top 20 prospect in the Guardians organization.
The ultimate goal here is to inform our readers and give you information on some of the young talent in the organization that they can follow and look forward to seeing in the future at the MLB level.
No. 46 Dayan Frias - INF
2022 Stats
Bio
Frias had a nice pro-debut in 2019 in the Dominican Summer League, but in 2021 he turned out to be one of the top players in the Arizona Complex League. Frias put up tremendous numbers, finishing second in the league OPS, third in AVG and OBP. After the season ended Frias competed in the Colombian Winter League where he continued to impress. He was then selected to play on Colombian roster for the Caribbean World Series. Colombia went on to win its first ever championship for their country.
2022 Season
Frias regressed at the plate from his terrific performance in 2021 in the Arizona Complex League making his debut in full-season ball at Low-A Lynchburg. Frias over 120 games hit .239 with a .344 OBP and slugged just .330 only producing 26 extra base hits on the season. While his walk rate decreased slightly from the prior season to 12.5% his strikeout rate raised almost 5% more to 24.9%.
After the 2022 minor league season Frias participated in the Colombian Winter League where he played a big part in his club winning the championship for the second straight season. Frias hit .318 with a .489 OBP and a .929 OPS over 24 games including the playoffs.
Frias went on to play in the play in the Caribbean Series for the second straight year and was named an All-Star at shortstop. He was selected to play for team Colombia in the upcoming World Baseball Classic and will be one of the younger players to participate in the tournament.
Scouting Report
Frias swings much harder from the left side of the plate which at times lent to more strikeouts and less contact from that side of the plate. In 2022 he only hit .231 and struck out 118 times compared to just 55 walks from the left side over 373 at bats. From the right side his swing looks to be more leveled, and conservative looking to make more contact and go the opposite way. From the right side he hit 55 points higher than they left at .286 and struck out just 10 times compared to 11 walks over 70 at bats. The increased strikeout rate in 2022 is a concern but may just be due to age and level of play.
Frias can play all over the infield, in 2022 he played 51 games at third base, 42 games at shortstop and 25 games at second base while at Lynchburg. Frias has an above average arm and is considered a plus defender at all three positions. One knock is his speed which is considered only average to slightly below average, but he makes up for it with his overall effort.
2023 and Future Outlook
Frias should open the 2023 season at High-A Lake County. If he can continue to develop at the plate and continue to mature physically, he could potentially be a starter at the MLB level or possibly a utility player at the very least. I am very high on this kid's potential moving forward despite his down year in 2021.
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