Cleveland Guardians: Who is newly acquired catcher/infielder David Fry?

The player-to-be-named-later in Cleveland’s J.C. Mejia trade with the Milwaukee Brewers may ultimately prove to be a gem for the Guardians.

Who is David Fry, the newly acquired catcher/infielder – the vaunted “player to be named later” – sent to the Guardians from the Brewers to complete last year’s J.C. Mejia trade?

Fry was born in Colleyville, Texas in 1995 and played his college ball at the Northwestern State University of Louisiana, where he played 221 games. Fry finished his collegiate career with just over 1,000 plate appearances, producing a solid batting average and on-base percentage of .301 and .386% respectively. He also showed he had some power, which is always a huge benefit for catchers, finishing with 31 home runs, 74 doubles and an OPS of .892.

In 2018, the Milwaukee Brewers drafted Fry in the seventh round of the amateur draft. His first rookie ball season was a success by any measurements, playing in 63 games between rookie ball and Low-A Wisconsin (for two games at least), putting up very impressive offensive numbers: .312/.400/.550 with 12 home runs, 15 doubles, and 57 RBIs.

In 2019, after being promoted fully to Low-A Wisconsin, Fry continued to show his power despite the drop in his batting average and on-base percentage. In 134 games that year, he had 17 homers, along with 70 runs batted in. And in 2021, playing in 94 games between Double-A Biloxi and Triple-A Nashville, Fry slugged 12 home runs and posted a slash line of .255/.348/.449.

Defensively, it’s difficult to get a solid breakdown of his ability; however, during his minor-league career, Fry has a .990 fielding percentage along with throwing out just under fifty percent of would-be base stealers at 49%. With J.C. Mejia just not panning out, Cleveland and its fans would be more than satisfied if Fry could produce similar numbers if and when he joins the big-league club.

After all, the Guardians would know a thing or two about acquiring a “player to be named later” from the Brewers.