Jake Fraley

Jake Arnold Fraley is an established figure in American professional baseball, currently an outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). Born on May 25, 1995, in Frederick, Maryland, Fraley’s journey to professional sports began in his youth. He attended Caravel Academy in Bear, Delaware, where he distinguished himself on the school’s baseball team, batting an impressive .536 as a junior and .492 as a senior. His talent was officially recognized when he was named to both Louisville Slugger’s All-American first team and the All-State first team during his senior year.

Deciding to continue his sporting career at a higher level, Fraley enrolled at Louisiana State University (LSU) to play college baseball for the LSU Tigers. As a freshman in 2014, he maintained his strong performance by batting .372. His skill earned him the recognition of Freshman All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. He later took part in the collegiate summer baseball for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League after both his freshman and sophomore years at university.

In 2016, Fraley’s abilities on the field caught the attention of professional recruiters, and he was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays with the overall 77th selection of the 2016 MLB draft. He began his professional career with the Hudson Valley Renegades for the 2016 season. Despite a batting average of .238 with one home run, 18 RBIs, and 33 stolen bases in 55 games, Fraley proved his worth by showing resilience and drive.

The following year was filled with challenges as Fraley struggled with a troublesome injury. Despite the setback, he managed to play for the Charlotte Stone Crabs, posting a .170 batting average with one home run and 12 RBIs over 26 games. Fraley would return stronger the next season in 2018, improving his batting average to .347 and scoring four home runs, 41 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases over 66 games.

Joining the Perth Heat for the 2017-2018 Australian Baseball League season during the off-season, Fraley’s exploits on the field something of legend, setting the runs (50) and stolen base (39) records.

In a major turn of events, Fraley was traded to the Seattle Mariners with Mallex Smith in exchange for Mike Zunino, Guillermo Heredia, and Michael Plassmeyer on November 8, 2018. There, he kicked off the 2019 season with Arkansas Travelers of the Double-A Texas League. The Mariners later promoted him to the Tacoma Rainiers of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League later that year.

On August 21, 2019, Fraley made his much-anticipated major league debut against the Tampa Bay Rays. Even though he batted .150 over 12 games, the experience was invaluable. The following year, Fraley appeared in only seven games with the Mariners, managing four hits in 23 at-bats.

2021 proved a landmark year for Fraley. On June 6, he hit his first career home run, a three-run shot off Griffin Canning of the Los Angeles Angels. He notched a go-ahead single in the 11th inning during a matchup against the Detroit Tigers, ensuring a 9–6 victory for his team. By the end of the season, Fraley had a batting average of .210 along with 9 home runs, 36 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases across 78 games.

Another shift happened in Fraley’s career when he was traded alongside Justin Dunn, Brandon Williamson, and a player to be named later (Connor Phillips) to the Cincinnati Reds in response for Eugenio Suárez and Jesse Winker on March 14, 2022. However, injury sidelined Fraley’s career once more when he developed right knee inflammation early in May that year. He was shifted to the 60-day injured list in June, only to be reactivated at the end of July.

Outside of baseball, Fraley is a devout Christian. He is the eldest of five siblings, including an older sister Lauren, two younger brothers, Andrew and Brandon, and two younger sisters, Hallie and Megan Myers. On October 21, 2016, Fraley married Angelica Caceres in Miami, Florida. They are now parents to two children. On a lighter note, he learned from an Ancestry.com test that he descends from Vikings and Anglo-Saxons. This fun fact led to the Cincinnati Reds adopting a unique dugout celebration for the 2023 season involving a Viking outfit in honor of Fraley’s ancestry.