Ethan Frey, the LSU baseball star from the Vernon Parish town of Rosepine, recently signed with the Houston Astros as a third-round draft pick and he is making a good first impression with the Astros’ Class A farm team in Fayetteville, N.C.
In the Astros’ top 100 prospects list, Ethan Taylor Frey ranks ninth overall. On the baseball grading scale of 20-80, he gets above-average 55 grades for power and running and average 50 scores for hitting, arm and fielding.
Nevertheless, that combination of skills he has shown for a player just arriving is “very promising,” said Fayetteville hitting coach Kyle Brennan, 30, who has been with the Astros organization in some capacity for four seasons.
The 6-foot-6, 225-pound Frey helped LSU win two NCAA baseball championships in the last three years, but he didn’t bloom as a starter until this season. That’s partly because he missed summer ball last year as he was recovering from a torn labrum.
But by the time the Tigers got to the NCAA Regionals, he arguably swatted the most important hit of the season. With LSU seemingly lifeless and trailing by four runs, he uncorked a two-out, three-run double into the gap in right center in the fourth inning against Little Rock. That transformed the kittens into roaring Tigers who rallied for the win, advanced to the Super Regional and didn’t close the season until they won the College World Series in Omaha.
He signed with the Astros for $997,500, according to the Astros Scouting Report, and in his first 12 games with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, he is batting .308 with 3 doubles, 9 RBI, 4 stolen bases and 12 walks. No home runs yet but remember he didn’t get his first collegiate home run until this past season, when he launched a three-run blast on Feb. 18 against Southern. He finished with 13 dingers for the season. That’s the same number of homers he had during his senior season at Rosepine, where he helped lead the Eagles to back-to-back state championships. A dual-threat quarterback during football season, he finished his prep baseball career ranked by Perfect Game as the No. 1 catcher and No. 2 overall player in the state of Louisiana.
Looking at his stats with the Woodpeckers, he has been walked a dozen times already (none intentionally). Brennan said that is reflective of his discipline at the plate, not going after pitches out of the zone, and getting the bat on pitches that are in the zone. He has struck out just eight times in 39 at-bats.
Brennan said Chris Martin, a friend and former strength and conditioning coordinator for the Astros who now handles that job for LSU baseball, is impressed with Frey. “He spoke highly of him and how he was excellent to work with,” said Brennan, who agrees.
“He’s been very positive, very intense; he comes from a winning culture and expects to compete at the highest level. He’s intense in his work but he’s got a playful banter among teammates and staff, which reflects his innate leadership qualities.”
That gift of leadership comes naturally, you might say. Ethan’s father, Ross Frey, a military government contractor, is a veteran who served in the Marines and the Army, earning the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Meritorious Service medals. Ross Frey was honored during LSU’s season at one of the “Soldier Salutes” ceremonies the Tigers conduct each home weekend at Alex Box.
Last week Fayetteville broadcaster Andrew Chapman did a podcast with Frey. A native of Mt. Vernon, Ill., Frey said on the podcast that, as a child, he used to play hockey with his dad in the kitchen. He said he can’t thank his father enough for showing him a work ethic. His mother, who is a military family assistant, and father visited him recently to catch a home series in Fayetteville.
Ethan said he saw them at batting practice before a game.
“It felt good to hug ’em again,” he said. “That never gets old.”