How Yankees’ Clint Frazier learned to harness ‘legendary’ bat speed

Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier is trying to “dance” at the plate — and he hopes it keeps him in the majors, as the Yankees open a weekend series with the Royals in Kansas City, Mo. on Friday, May 18, 2018 (5/18/18).

Watch video

WASHINGTON — Clint Frazier danced his way to the Yankees.

“I’m trying to literally — it’s a like a song. Rhythm in the box. Just have some kind of dance just with my hands and my body,” Frazier said.

The highly regarded 23-year-old outfielder was explaining a slight change in his swing that he believes helped him go on a Triple-A tear and wind up back where he wants to be — the major leagues.

“Just trying to map the path of what’s to come,” he said before the Yankees and Nationals got rained out at Nationals Park on Wednesday. “I’m trying to time my hands and my knee at the exact same time.”

Updates on Yankees prospects

Frazier hit .362 with three homers and four RBI for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with a 1.125 OPS in 12 games.

It was a welcomed sight for the Yankees after Frazier dealt with the most serious injury of his career.

During spring training in late February, he crashed into a left-field wall making a catch. His head slammed against a scoreboard behind a chain-link fence. Frazier missed the rest of spring training and all of April recovering from brutal concussion symptoms, such as headaches and light sensitivity and he even forgot the names of his cats. 

Since returning, though, he’s been hot enough at the plate that the Yankees called him up as an extra bench bat without the designated hitter in play at a National League park. They will keep his right-handed bat, manager Aaron Boone said, at least through the weekend series with the Royals because the team expects Kansas City to use two lefty starting pitchers.

Frazier tinkered with his approach in the offseason, hoping to reduce a hitch in his swing that slowed bat speed that general manager Brian Cashman called “legendary” when the team acquired him in a trade with the Indians for reliever Andrew Miller at the 2016 deadline.

On May 7, against the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse, Frazier said he wanted to do something that would make him more athletic in the box.

So he started rocking back and forth, trying to sync his hands with his front leg. His goal, he said, is to time his leg kick’s apex with his bat wave when the head of the bat is pointing toward the pitcher.

Frazier said he watches video of his swing every day to catch flaws.

“I’m trying to limit that last-second hitch,” Frazier said. “I feel like that has been what’s caused me to miss balls or swing through some pitches. I still do it, but it’s minute. But if everything is in sync, it’s pretty good.”

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.