SARASOTA, Fla. -- A multi-hit game from Adam Frazier on Sunday helped him maintain a batting average better than .500. Typically, a player boasting these kinds of numbers should have some stability in the lineup. But he’s also not the only player in the clubhouse mashing nearly everything in Florida.
“Yeah, I might be hitting .500, but I’m still trying to catch Kevin Newman hitting .700,” Frazier said with a grin Sunday
Frazier led off the 2-1 victory against the Orioles with a broken-bat double that came back into the wind like a boomerang to land inside the chalk in right field. The 29-year-old finished with two hits in four at-bats during Sunday’s contest.
Each of his hits led to both Pittsburgh runs. Frazier scored the first on Troy Stokes Jr.’s RBI rope to right-center in the first. Then Frazier plated Oneil Cruz with a bloop single to left against Baltimore starter Matt Harvey in the second. His efforts actually dropped his batting average to .553 and his OPS to 1.549 in 41 Grapefruit League at-bats.
“I made a little adjustment at the beginning of spring, and I feel like I’m in a good place with it,” Frazier said. “I feel like I simplified a lot of things, and I’m seeing the ball a long time and I can get to any pitch in the zone. I feel like I can keep it going into the season.”
Obviously, Newman, who finished Saturday’s game batting .714, and Frazier’s spring paces are unsustainable. But their shared success should impact the way Derek Shelton builds the top of his lineup.
“I don't know who I'm going to hit [lead off],” Shelton said. “What goes into consideration is the matchups, the flow of the lineup, the back and forth of the right and left because of the three-batter, but normally it's a different kind of matchup -- pitcher types are the big things that go into it.
“The end-of-spring performance, how you're swinging the bat definitely could play into it.”
Blink, and you might miss a hit. It’s been that kind of spring for a collection of Pirates that figure to be in the lineup every day during the regular season.
Ke’Bryan Hayes is also having a spring that couldn’t realistically be maintained throughout the season, batting .413 with a 1.145 OPS. Bryan Reynolds’ numbers better resemble every season he’s played since college with the exception of last year’s pandemic-stained .189 mark.
Following the trends that Pittsburgh has displayed in Florida, Frazier remains the incumbent candidate for the lead-off spot in the lineup on a more than regular basis. But the club also has another hitter that’s more than capable of batting at the top of the order in Newman.
Newman leads off games where Frazier is out of the lineup. And when they’re in there together -- which should be most every game when the regular season begins -- Newman stays lower in the order, around the No. 6 spot.
Hayes and Reynolds have typically followed Frazier in the order. That trio has a combined 13 doubles, four triples and six homers this spring. But Frazier and Hayes have more extra-base hits than RBIs.
It’s difficult to judge the meaning within that disparity in the spring, but if that trend persists into the regular season, placing someone atop the order that could get on base ahead of those extra-base hits might become important.
Fortunately for the Pirates, they have a candidate for that spot. If that trio can continue to find gaps and tap into its power, it might be worth seeing what remnants of Newman’s .735 spring on-base percentage make it to the regular season.
“As long as Newman is hitting before me, I’m sure he’ll be on base,” Reynolds said Saturday, denying the idea that the power bursts which have resulted in three spring homers are the product of a change in approach or mechanics. “My main focus has been being on time and getting ready really, so when I’m in that good position, the rest happens for me.”
Frazier was similarly unfazed by the notion of moving out of the lead-off spot. He didn’t post great numbers in that spot in the order last year, batting .208 as opposed to sporting a .308 average in half as many at-bats one spot lower.
“I don’t really care where I hit in the lineup. If there’s a lefty in there I’ll probably bounce around,” Frazier said. “ It’s still an at-bat against whoever you’re facing. And yeah, it’d be cool to have more RBI opportunities. I’ll take it one at-bat at a time and try to put a barrel on it.”
His actual concerns, which will likely stay consistent moving forward, are the adjustments that have allowed him to get to this point in the spring. Shelton mentioned the biggest difference for Frazier was shortening a swing that had something of a loop to it last season. In hindsight, it was a simple change, but it seemed like a greater challenge at the time of its diagnosis.
“I couldn’t figure out what was going on,” he said. “[Your hands] get lost behind you, behind your body, you have to get your hands through the zone, and in return you have a longer swing. You have to stay inside the ball. You’re on time. Not able to hit the ball to all fields. Open up all fields again. That feels pretty good. It allows me to have a chance on a lot more pitches.”
Newman has six doubles this spring but can’t typically run into a homer the way anybody else in the lineup can. Colin Moran or Gregory Polanco have often been batting in the Nos. 4 and 5 spots in the order this spring. Even if Newman won’t bat lead-off, he’s played himself into a candidate that could break up those lefties in the order. Jacob Stallings and Anthony Alford -- the other two likely members of the opening day lineup -- are also both right-handed hitters who should realistically have an opportunity to bat between the two lefties.
MORE FROM THIS GAME
• Mitch Keller struggled to throw strikes but put together his best outing of the spring as Pirates’ pitchers held Baltimore to just two hits. Keller issued four walks but surrendered just one hit and struck out a pair over three scoreless innings. It was the antithesis of his previous start. In which, he was lauded for pitching within the zone while allowing three runs in 3.1 innings. Keller threw 41 of 72 pitches for strikes and had his breaking pitches working.
• Quinn Priester made the trip with the club for his second appearance of the spring. The 20-year-old right-hander also struggled with his control and was lifted after walking the bases loaded. He walked three batters and got two outs through the air before Blake Weiman stranded the runners.
• Braeden Ogle gave up the Orioles’ only run on Austin Wynns’ sacrifice fly in the fourth before six different Pirates’ relievers kept Baltimore hitless for the rest of the game. Michael Feliz, Sam Howard and Nick Mears each struck out a pair in a perfect inning. Luis Oviedo recorded a strikeout and hit Austin Hays with a pitch in the seventh. Yusniel Diaz doubled to set up the run against Ogle following a walk to Chance Sisco.
• Cruz played most of the game at shortstop and needed all of his 6-foot-7 frame to make a lunging grab on a Hays liner that likely would have tied the game. He also singled and walked in two at-bats and was part of another weird moment in the fourth. Will Craig fouled a pitch off and Cruz, in the on-deck circle, took a defensive swipe at the ball that was headed toward his face with his bat and actually made contact. It went all the way out to Trey Mancini at first base, who caught it on the fly. Unfortunately, this moment was lost in time because the game was not broadcast on TV.
• Pirates major league staff assistant Jeremy Bleich will play with Team Israel in the upcoming Olympic games in Tokyo.
“I think it’s finally starting to hit me that this could happen and take place,” Bleich said. “As you see some of the news come out in Japan with some of the rules and regulations and obviously they said no foreign fans but as we get closer it’s becoming more tangible and the excitement is on the rise.”
Bleich, a left-hander who pitched in professional baseball for 11 years, including a two-game stint with Oakland in 2018, said that his job within the Pirates’ organization mostly involves defensive shift planning in both the infield and outfield. He also works as an advance scout and assists Oscar Marin and the pitching coaches.
“We have a great system in place, our infomatics group is incredible, they have supported me and that’s been a part of my learning that has been huge, learning that part of the game,” Bleich said. “And I try to marry that with my experience and my understanding for what players are going through, for what they may be feeling in a certain moment and the information is only as good as the vehicle for delivery.”
Supposedly Bleich has been one of the few pitchers to get Newman out this March, retiring him in a simulated game earlier this spring. He also said that Shelton owes him a press conference in a Team Israel jersey if his team can win a medal.
Bleich, whose grandparents are both holocaust survivors, was also on the World Baseball Classic team that represented Israel in east Asia in 2017.
“I am super stoked that he is pitching in the Olympics, and I think our whole staff is,” Shelton said, revealing that he plans to carve out some time in July to watch him pitch if he can. “He’s an integral member of our staff. ... A really bright guy. ... It’s going to be a really, really cool thing.”
• The Pirates host the Twins in Bradenton on Monday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m. Miguel Yajure is listed as the starter against Minnesota righty Matt Canterino. Kyle Crick, Richard Rodriguez, Chasen Shreve, Chris Stratton and Tyler Bashlor are also due to pitch.