The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired right-handed pitcher Johnny Barbato from the New York Yankees back on April 17th in a deal that was described as a cash considerations deal. Apparently it was cash considerations or a player to be named later, because the Pirates sent West Virginia Power reliever Matt Frawley to the Yankees today to complete the deal.
We noted in Spring Training this year that the 21-year-old Frawley looked good, pounding the bottom of the strike zone with a low-90s fastball that had great downward plane. He carried over those spring results into the regular season, where he has a 1.62 ERA in 19 appearances, throwing 33.1 innings with 32 strikeouts, a .184 BAA, a 1.52 GO/AO ratio and an 0.75 WHIP. He profiles as a future middle reliever in the majors if he reaches his upside. He was drafted in the 17th round last year.
