Number 48 on our top 100 countdown is Florida Atlantic infielder Tyler Frank.
He played 45 games as a freshman in 2016 at shortstop and at catcher. Frank hit .285 in 137 at-bats with 22 runs scored, 8 doubles, 1 home run, 27 RBI, 3 stolen bases, 27 walks and 21 strikeouts.
That season he received All-CUSA Freshman honors.
In the summer of 2016 Frank played in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League where he hit .302 in 116 at-bats with 31 runs scored, 9 doubles, 4 home runs, 32 RBI, 15 stolen bases, 32 walks and 19 strikeouts.
He followed up that 2016 season with a breakout 2017 season in which he hit .336 with FAU as a sophomore in 235 at-bats with 54 runs scored, 15 doubles, 11 home runs, 43 RBI, 6 stolen bases, 41 walks and 29 strikeouts.
Frank was named to the First Team All-Conference USA team with those numbers, and he earned an invitation to the USA Baseball tryout camp for the 2017 Collegiate National Team.
He also spent time in the Cape Cod League this past summer and hit .262 in 65 at-bats with 5 runs scored, 6 doubles, 1 home run, 13 RBI, 1 stolen base, 2 walks and 13 strikeouts.
The 6-foot, 185 pound middle infielder has a really easy swing with a slight leg kick that starts with his front foot turned in so that he makes sure he stays on the baseball and doesn’t pull off the pitch.
He’s proven over his career that he’s a great contact hitter with 68 walks and just 50 strikeouts in 372 at-bats at FAU.
Even when his power numbers increased as a sophomore, we didn’t see his strikeout numbers increase. That is the type of approach scouts are looking for at the major league level right now.
Whether or not Frank sticks at shortstop is yet to be determined, but there is no questioning the bat skill of this kid.
