Sal Frelick, CF, 2021 Eligible
Frelick arrived on campus without the hype and publicity of other freshmen from around the country, something that quickly changed as he has been on the upswing since suiting up for the Eagles. A three-sport star at Lexington High School who actually won the Gatorade Player of the Year…for football, the athleticism was apparent and expectations within the program were sky-high for the then left-handed hitting shortstop.
Not overly physical in stature at a listed 5-foot-9, his 175-pound frame is full of tightly-wound, fast-twitch muscle, allowing for bursts of plus speed both on the bases and out in center field, where he now calls home. The speed, which is an easy plus tool and will show double plus as he did on a 4.01 down the line in Saturday’s contest against NC State, stands out in center field with tremendous range to either gap, as well as moving north and south, giving several fully extended bids on balls he simply has no reason of being within the vicinity of, let alone almost making the highlight-reel type catch. His arm grades out at average, showing carry out of the hand and a mostly true path mid-flight, and while he has played right field for the Eagles in the past, there’s no questioning that his speed and first step explosiveness will keep him patrolling center field for years to come. It’s also worth noting that he has yet to make an error in his Boston College career.
“good contact ability, LD’s to all fields, squares consistently, can elevate and hit HR to pull.” Those were some of the notes from the 2015 Northeast Underclass Showcase Frelick attended as a then-rising sophomore, and even though it was six years ago, it all still holds true to his present-day ability and skill set. After announcing himself to the baseball world as a true freshman in which he hit .367-4-32 with 18 stolen bases, Frelick got off to a slower start in 2020 but still showed the advanced plate discipline and simple refusal to expand the zone, accumulating 11 walks to just six strikeouts in 58 at-bats. The keen eye and bat-to-ball skill are two key elements in Frelick’s success (51 career walks to 41 strikeouts), helping him climb up boards this spring during a year in which other collegiate bats have struggled.
Frelick’s swing is as short as it is fast through the zone, showing absurd hand speed which in turn allows him to see the ball deeper than most, make the adjustment or simply spit on pitches that others might chase. Opening up the series against NC State with a pair of walks in which he didn’t take the barrel off of his shoulder, Frelick came to the plate in his third at-bat and promptly shot a hard ground ball back up the middle, plating a run for the Eagles. It was a relatively quiet weekend for Frelick with just a pair of hits, but he did draw four walks, struck out just once, and rarely swung and missed, still showing the host of decision makers in attendance all the key elements of his game.
Once again Frelick is putting together a tremendous offensive campaign, coming out of the NC State series with a .360 average (entered with a .370 mark) and he’s already connected for more doubles and home runs on the year than he did in 2019. The consistency, athleticism, and pluses across the scouting card have helped Frelick rise into a rather consensus top-10 pick with plenty of optimism he could hear his name called even higher come July.
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