The month was January, the year was 2022…the Cincinnati Reds are on the verge of total commitment to an organizational overhaul and certain rebuild. Rumors are swirling everywhere, Luis Castillo to the Yankees, Dodgers, or…where? Tyler Mahle‘s market is hot, the Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins are interested, the Baltimore Orioles are checking in…and then Spring Training comes around, and not even on day 1 of it, Nick Krall and Jerry Dipoto drop a bomb. And so did I.
LOL.
— Nati Sports (@Nati_Sports) March 15, 2022
David Bell:
"Justin Dunn will be a bit delayed due to injury."
So not only did they give away Winker, they gave him away for an INJURED STARTER.
Fire. Nick. Krall.
On March 14th, 2022, the Cincinnati Reds dealt Jesse Winker, one year removed from an All Star Game & Eugenio Suarez, who was struggling, but all ball-knowers knew he’d recover, to the Seattle Mariners for a package of 4 players. The fanbase went absolutely insane. The Reds had just dealt two of the absolute fan favorites, if not 1a, & 1b, respectfully, to a team across the United States, in a totally different division. Twitter went wild. None of us wanted to accept losing our favorite players AND still losing games, but we had to. In that package? LHP Brandon Williamson, who was said to have the best fastball in all of the Minor Leagues as a LHP, RHP Justin Dunn, who spent many parts of his MiLB career as a top prospect, though never being able to stay healthy, a Player to be named Later (RHP Connor Phillips,) and then, some “throw in” to fill Winkers OF position, as it was labeled, named…
Jake Arnold Fraley
You hear a lot about Elly de La Cruz, Spencer Steer, Matt McLain, Will Benson, the list goes on, but not much (alright, let’s be fair, we Reds fans know about ’em) about Jake “Rake” Fraley. The dude is the definition of consistent. In the clubhouse, on the field, in the dugout…consistent. With tremendous aura. I mean, look at the picture above.
“We’re a better team with him out there.”
David Bell, Reds Manager
Since the Cincinnati Reds traded for him, Jake Fraley has absolutely abused right handed pitching. So far in 2024, a week 1/2 through the season, he’s also shown he can hit LHP. He hit his first homer of the year off LHP Gabe Speier from the Seattle Mariners on 4/15/24.
| Year | Slashline vs RHP | BR oWAR | wRC+ |
| 2022 | (216 PAs) .277/.361/.500/.861 20 XBHs 11 HRs | 1.3 | 122 |
| 2023 | (339 PAs) .268/.348/.467/.815 30 XBHs 18 SB | 1.3 | 107 |
| 2024 | (31 PAs) (through 4/16) .414/.452/.552/1.003 4 XBHs 3 SB | 0.5 | 191 |
If you put aside his consistency, let’s talk about the insane aura, and badass nickname Jake has. He’s known as “RAKE” a synonym relaying his consistency with ability to hit the ball. There is no one more professional than Rake, and he’s quickly becoming a fan favorite through his intensity and desire to be a Cincinnati Red. Jake has connected with us from day 1, literally, when he tweeted that he understood our frustrations (see below image).
During 2023’s playoff push that fell short, Jake Fraley had a stress fracture in his toe and played through it to try to help the team win. The guy is an absolute legend and should be talked about as such. He’s on fire to start 2024, and let’s hope there’s no injury or anything to slow him down. We appreciate you, Rake!
