Take a Look at Todd Frazier

Juan Francisco is in Atlanta. Paul Janish is headed to Louisville. That means Todd Frazier has made the Cincinnati Reds. He probably deserves more attention than your typical final roster guy.

For example, take a look at how his last two years at Triple-A stack up against popular middle infield sleeper (and 27-year-old) Zack Cozart:

Cozart make more contact, yes. He’s also a year older. Cozart plays more shortstop, yes. But Frazier plays every other position and played shortstop regularly in 2008. Cozart has hit higher heights in most categories. Frazier has actually been more consistent.

In any case, it’s close enough to wonder why Cozart is the one that is getting all the love. Sure, he’s got a position waiting for him, but Frazier is only looking at octogenarian Scott Rolen at third base, and the long underwhelming Ryan Ludwick in left field. Chris Heisey will figure in, too, but with the other options around the diamond, Frazier looks like he could get into the lineup more than half the time. He’s murdered lefties for a while, and will be needed to fill in for a few injuries along the way.

What can he do when he gets into the game?

Better than league average power, combined with decent speed. Some patience if you are in an OBP league. If given a full year, his ZiPs projection of a .242/.307/.423 line with 20 homers and 13 stolen bases seems reasonable, although he’s been adding power as he’s progressed the through the Minor Leagues and could possibly better the slugging numbers. He’s probably best kept on a deep dynasty bench as you wait for the inevitable Rolen injury, at least for now.

Deeper dynasty leagues, in particular, have a reason to watch Frazier: Rolen is entering the final year of his contract. Since the Reds just dropped some serious coin on their first baseman, they may want to skimp on their third baseman. If Frazier can prove his mettle this year, he’ll be in strong consideration for the job next year.

And it’s not like Rolen isn’t showing signs of being done. Check out his isolated slugging percentage since about halfway through the 2010 season:

That’s right, he’s had about one good power week in the last season and a half. In the year and a half before that All-Star Break, Rolen missed 25 games. In the year and a half since, he’s missed 105 games. It’s an arbitrary endpoint, but one of the reasons Rolen had a resurgence was that he had that nice year-plus of health. The last year-plus fits in much better with his recent career. Just look at 2009.

So you have a crackerjack young, cost-controlled utility player with power and speed and a bit of a contact issue — coming up behind two veterans with checkered recent pasts with little time left on their contracts. Even if Todd Frazier doesn’t ascend to an everyday role early in the season, the path towards regular playing time is clear. Take a look at him.