Moving the pieces so Frazier can lead off ... and play second?

BRADENTON, Fla. -- The Pirates' process beyond Jung Ho Kang apparently has begun.

Clint Hurdle made up a lineup card Monday unlike any other this spring, and it appeared to cement that Adam Frazier will be his leadoff man and that, in turn, the infield will have a very different look than if Kang weren't stuck outside the country because of his three DUIs in South Korea: Frazier, who can play just about anywhere, was placed at second, Josh Harrison was slid over third, David Freese went all the way across from third to first and, of course, Jordy Mercer was at short.

That's how it looked for this 4-1 victory over the Twins at LECOM Park. And if Josh Bell is mixed in at first, in addition to utilizing the versatility of all concerned, that just might be the answer for getting Frazier onto the field as often as possible to ensure that the Pirates' by-far best leadoff option finds the comfort level he'd need.

Not that Hurdle was conceding as much.



"I don't have my lineup for Boston," he said of the season opener a week away at Fenway Park. "I don't have that for you right now."

But could he see Frazier seeing leadoff duty over the course of the summer.

"Yes, that is something I can say. I mean, how many times have I had him at leadoff this spring? It's been every time, right?"

Sure has. Every single start. And he hasn't exactly disappointed, with a .400/.468/1.104 slash line through 18 Grapefruit League games and 55 at-bats. That comes with three home runs, four doubles, 10 RBIs and only five strikeouts against six walks.

In this game, he led off with a home run to right off Minnesota's mostly effective Phil Hughes:



Next time up, he swatted an RBI single, dropping his front knee Andy Van Slyke-style, to the same part of the park:



That's been happening for weeks now. In the 16 games in which he's had at least one plate appearance, Frazier has reached base safely in all but three of them. And of the 40 total times he's reached, he's come around to score 15 times.

Right. A leadoff guy.

I asked him after the game if the role comes naturally.

"Yeah, I feel pretty comfortable doing it," Frazier replied. "I try to be a tough out. Just get on base any way I can. I've always had an idea for an approach that I have at leadoff, and I've had success doing it."

Seems intimidated, huh?

Well, whether it fazes him or not, the impact he can have on the Pirates' offense is substantial, for better or worse.

If he isn't the leadoff guy, that leaves the job to one of Starling Marte or Harrison, statistically two of the least selective hitters in all of Major League Baseball. Hurdle won't say so outwardly, but he doesn't want that anymore than anyone else does. That's the primary reason Frazier's been atop the order all spring, to offer him every chance to "put his foot down," to borrow one of Hurdle's many golden Hurdle-isms. And all Frazier did was go all Sasquatch on the process.

So, if he is the leadoff guy, you begin slotting more along the lines of common sense. To again cite Monday's lineup, it went Frazier, Harrison, Andrew McCutchen, Marte ... and there isn't much point going further since Gregory Polanco's still out with a minor injury. But the feel there is obvious. There will be contact at No. 2, Cutch at his customary No. 3 in reasonable hopes of a rebound, then Marte or Polanco at 4 or 5 in whatever order, maybe depending on lefty/righty needs.

That's a pretty nice top of the order and right through the heart. But again, if stuck with some .300 or .310 on-base percentage it leadoff, it can all easily go poof.

As for Harrison switching back to third after a full year at second, he gave the characteristic shrug.

"I'll play wherever. You know me," he said. "I've done it before."

Oh, and where does Jung Ho fit?

How about a cell somewhere in South Korea?

HANDFUL OF HIGHLIGHTS

• Not to raise a sore spot, but Miguel Sano, the mega-prospect the Pirates unquestionably would have signed had the front office come up with another $800,000, lasered a home run in the second inning that clanged loudly off the bleachers above the left-field boardwalk. More impressive, he overcame swinging over Nova's opening two curves.

I asked Nova about that sequence: