The Pittsburgh Pirates have struggled over the last couple of games as they lost the final two games against their division rival St. Louis Cardinals. Then they followed it up by dropping game one of another important series against the Colorado Rockies last night 2-0. Oddly enough one of the only Pirates standout performers this weekend was not in the lineup yesterday in Colorado, Adam Frazier. Frazier has had an up and down season after coming off a career best year in 2017. After his rough start he has found himself in a familiar position, the most reliable bench player for the Pirates.
Frazier finished 2017 with career high numbers in hits (112), RBIs (53), and in games (112). That earned him a spot on the Pirates opening day roster for the second consecutive season. Frazier struggled out of the gate this season as he hit just .239 before being sent down to AAA Indianapolis. His hitting didn’t improve when he was sent down as he only hit .223 with the Indians in just 32 games.
After the Corey Dickerson injury in Cleveland the Pirates recalled Frazier on July 25th. Since being recalled Frazier has been the best bench player on the Pirates roster. He has hit .410 in 11 games while playing both in the outfield as well as in the middle infield. Of his 13 hits since being recalled 7 of them are doubles and one was a Home Run that he hit Sunday for the Pirates line run of the game.
His ability to play both the infield and outfield well make him a pivotal bench player. Especially playing in Clint Hurdle’s system that sees everyday starters get rest days more often than with other managers. He, along with David Freese, have been the only serviceable bench players for the Pirates since the All Star Break. The injuries to Corey Dickerson, Josh Bell, and Starling Marte in the second half of the season has exposed the Pirates depth players.
Jordan Luplow is a good replacement player when it comes to fielding, but his bat is non existent as he is hitting .167 in 17 games this season. Jose Osuna has assumed first base responsibilities for the most part due to the Bell injury, but is only hitting .190. David Freese has been able to pick up the slack as well as Francisco Cervelli who has been filling in for a couple of games. Sean Rodriguez has never been a great hitter but had been a reliable fielder in almost all positions. This year Rodriguez has struggled in both areas of the game as he is hitting an abysmal .163 this season and has a total of 6 fielding errors charged to him. That’s not even taking into account his lack of range in the field.
That means three of the Pirates bench players (Rodriguez, Luplow, Osuna) are batting below the “Mendoza Line” which is only .200.
Adam Frazier along with Freese and Elias Diaz will need to continue their stellar play to keep this years Pirates team in contention for a playoff spot. The Pirates also added some depth yesterday as they acquired middle infielder Adeiny Hechavarria from the Rays who hit .258 in 61 games this season. With that deal and Frazier playing we’ll bench players like Rodriguez and Luplow will most likely be seeing much less playing time if the Pirates stay in contention.
Another issue with the Pirates lack of depth is their lack of production from their middle infielders. Both Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer have been playing less than average in the field. Neither of them have been able to put together successful offensive seasons either as Harrison is hitting .251 while Mercer is hitting .257.
With those two underperforming along with Hurdle’s system, Adam Frazier should be in the Pirates lineup every night, at least until his bat cools off. He was the Pirates biggest and sole offensive threat in games 2 and 3 of the Cardinals series, and is the best option off of the bench for the middle infield and all three outfield positions.
Frazier doesn’t appear to be in the lineup again tonight against the Rockies. Meaning he will not be used for the Pirates who haven’t scored a run since Frazier homered in the 7th inning of Sunday’s game against the Cardinals. First pitch between the Rockies and the Pirates is at 8:40.
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