The Pittsburgh Pirates Should Not Hesitate to Lean on Adam Frazier

The Pittsburgh Pirates are a team that is searching for answers. They may have a ready-made answer in Adam Frazier

Pittsburgh Pirates UT Adam Frazier has been an unexpected surprise in 2016. In a season thought to mark the debut of noted pitching prospects, a do-it-all utility man who had all of 299 plate appearances at Triple-A has shown that he is big-league ready.

So why won’t manager Clint Hurdle pencil him into the lineup more often? To be sure, there is a comfort level that has been built up with players such as Josh Harrison and David Freese. With Gregory Polanco‘s ability to get hot at any given time coupled with Starling Marte‘s consistent play, the formula for consistent playing time for Frazier gets murky.

With the club barely clinging to Wild Card contention, the time may be now for Hurdle to consider scribbling Frazier’s name on his lineup card with regularity, regardless of preference or past performance.

Major-League Ready

Despite having just those 299 PAs at Indianapolis, Frazier has consistently shown to have a major-league capable approach at the plate. A quick glance at several plate discipline and batted ball peripherals shows this to be the case.

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The biggest takeaway from these statistics presented here is that Frazier is seeing more pitches in the zone than most other hitters, and doing more with them. An 85.1 percent contact rate versus just a 7.7 percent swinging strike rate shows a very patient hitter who may be more advanced at the plate than initially thought.

When Frazier does put bat-to-ball, his hard hit percentage is above league average as well as is his line drive percentage. A quality approach breeds quality contact which breeds quality hits.

When a new player – pitcher or position player – comes to the major leagues, you often hear about the “punch back” effect. This was most readily apparent in 2014 when Polanco came to the bigs – with great fanfare – and looked sturdy, only for the league to punch back. Polanco was unable to counter-punch, and his contributions down the stretch were nil at best.

With Frazier, that punch back may in fact come soon. With time running out on the 2016 season, it may be in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ best interests to roll the dice that the league’s punch won’t come in time. It’s a calculated risk, but one the team should strongly consider.

Small Sample Size Alert

We cannot discount that these results have come in a small amount of plate appearances – 89 to be exact.

But, beyond the normal small sample size alert, these results cannot be ignored. Not now, with just 27 games left. With results like these, Hurdle must commit himself to putting the best lineup on the field in each game, period. With apologies to Freese’s track record, this may mean more time on the bench for the 2011 World Series MVP, who has struggled mightily as of late.

This is but one scenario to get Frazier more playing time. With the ability to play multiple positions, Frazier could – and should – be the 2016 version of the 2014 version of Harrison, bouncing around the field to keep his bat in the lineup.

Clearly, his splits suggest that starting games provides a boost for Frazier.

 

Right now, no one can predict how the rest of Frazier’s debut season will go at the plate. His August slashline of .278/.278/.306 may seem pedestrian, but with just seven starts in that timeframe, it is easy to wonder what a regular role for Frazier would bring.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are a desperate team that may have to resort to desperate measures.

With his performance-to-date, finding regular playing time for Frazier would not reek of desperation.

Not even close.

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Photo Credit – Daniel Decker Photography