South Side Sox Top Prospect No. 68: Fraser Ellard

Fraser Ellard

Left-Handed Relief Pitcher
6´4´´
205 pounds
Age: 25
2022 SSS Top Prospect Rank 93
2022 High Level Birmingham (AA)
Age relative to high level -0.4 years
SSS rank among all left-handed relievers in the system 6
Overall 2022 stats 4-1 ⚾️ 4 SV ⚾️ 41 games (10 finished) ⚾️ 56 2⁄3 IP ⚾️ 4.13 ERA ⚾️ 1.588 WHIP ⚾️ 58 K ⚾️ 35 BB

While a senior for King’s Ridge Christian School in Alpharetta, Ga., Fraser Ellard posted a 7-1 record and 1.12 ERA as a senior. After spending a year with Truett-McConnell CC (Cleveland, Ga.), Ellard spent the next three years pitching for tiny Lander University (Greenwood, S.C.), where as a senior he posted an impressive 1.38 ERA in 26 innings as a starter before the pandemic shutdown. Ellard transferred to Liberty University as a redshirt senior and posted a 3.65 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in 26 outings while striking out 63 in 44 1⁄3 innings. The White Sox liked him enough to select him in the eighth round of the 2021 draft.

While performing well in an abbreviated three-game stint with the ACL Sox, Ellard struggled a bit with Kannapolis, posting a 4.96 ERA and 1.73 WHIP in 11 appearances. In 16 1⁄3 innings for the Cannon Ballers, he surrendered 19 hits (.275 OBA) and 10 walks (12.3%) while fanning 21 (25.9%). He doesn’t possess blazing stuff, but he does have a fairly deceptive delivery that hides the ball until just the last moment.

In 2022, Ellard was challenged by the White Sox, with a fairly aggressive promotion to Winston-Salem. Fraser proved up to the task, with a 3.78 ERA and some closing duty; a year older than his High-A peers, the White Sox again challenged Fraser, with a move in late May up to Double-A Birmingham. The southpaw struggled there, but not so much as to stifle his upward mobility in the system.

Fraser’s Baseball Cube player ratings
Durability 78
Strikeouts 73
K/BB 59
Walks 49
Hittable 47
vs. Power 47
Team Winning Percentage .451

Ellard has had difficulties with his control (a 6.5 BB/9 in college has been carved to just 5.3 in the pros), so his ability to harness it may determine how far he advances. Though he is very likely to begin again in Birmingam, a dearth of quality lefties in the system and Ellard’s pattern of strong starts would indicate that Charlotte is not out of the question for 2023.

2023 South Side Sox Top 102 White Sox Prospects

68. Fraser Ellard, LHRP
69. Colby Smelley, C
70. Ethan Hammerberg, RHRP
71. Lincoln Henzman, RHRP
72. Vince Vannelle, RHRP
73. Brooks Baldwin, 3B-2B
74. James Beard, CF
75. Gabriel Rodríguez, RHSP
76. Ronny Hernandez, C
77. Troy Claunch, C
78. Brooks Gosswein, LHSP
79. Tim Elko, 1B
80. Yoelvín Silven, RHRP
81. Trey Jeans, LHRP
82. Jerry Burke, RHSP
83. Carlos Jiménez, 1B
84. Mason Adams, RHSP
85. Frankeli Arias, LHSP
86. Ernesto Jaquez, RHSP
87. Laz Rivera, 3B
88. Xavier Fernández, C
89. Álvaro Agüero, CF
90. Ben Norman, RF
91. Erick Bello, RHRP
92. Adisyn Coffey, RHRP
93. Arnold Prado, RF
94. Alsander Womack, 2B
95. Johan Domínguez, RHSP
96. Evan Skoug, C
97. Noah Owen, RHSP
98. Javier Mora, 2B
99. Will Kincanon, RHRP
100. Yohemy Nolasco, RHSP
101. Billy Seidl, RHRP
102. José Rodulfo, RHRP