Adam Frazier an All-Star? Pirates 2B receiving national recognition, votes for his hitting

When Adam Frazier came to bat with two outs, runners on second and third and trailing by one run and smacked the game winner over the Clemente Wall at PNC Park, his teammates mobbed him in celebration.

Half of them, anyway.

Frazier’s walk-off homer was part of an intrasquad batting practice competition between the Pittsburgh Pirates before Friday’s game against the Cleveland Indians at PNC Park, designed to loosen up the team amid a seasonlong 10-game losing streak.

“I’ll probably forget about it (once the game starts), but it’s a good feeling,” Frazier said. “Same field, there’s a little something on the line, you want to come through for your team there. I like being in those situations.”

Frazier has come through at the plate for the Pirates this season, where he ranks among the MLB leaders in hits (second, with 85), doubles (tied for first, 23) and batting average (sixth, .324).

If he continues, it could pay off for Frazier with his first All-Star Game appearance. In the first phase of voting at a position that is the National League’s closest race, Frazier ranked second among second baseman with 201,886 votes, behind Atlanta’s Ozzie Albies (295,478) and ahead of Gavin Lux of the Los Angeles Dodgers (167,421). The second phase will determine the starters.

“It would mean a lot. It’s obviously a goal you have for yourself as a kid, you know?” Frazier said. “It’s something you strive for as a player. You always want to be one of the best. It would be a pretty awesome experience being around the rest of the league’s best, Hall of Fame guys. … It would be fun, but I’ve still got some work to do.”

That Frazier’s focus is on hitting — and winning — makes sense, given he followed a 13-game hitting streak by going 0 for 9 in his last three games as the Pirates endured their longest losing streak in a decade. The opportunity to represent the team as an All-Star serves as a light at the end of the tunnel during a dark period of their journey.

“It’s out of my hands,” Frazier said. “I’m just trying to control how I play: Play hard every day, try to get some hits in the meantime and try to win some games. We’re in a tough stretch right now. The All-Star stuff, I’m trying not to worry about that. I’m going to block that out and play hard and see what happens.”

Pirates manager Derek Shelton believes Frazier, center fielder Bryan Reynolds and closer Richard Rodriguez all should merit All-Star consideration, despite the team’s last-place standing in the NL Central and owning the third-worst record (23-44) in the majors.

“When you’re going through a stretch like this, sometimes there’s not positive things to talk about, but those guys deserve to be All-Stars,” Shelton said. “I was asked the other day, you know, ‘Why should Adam Frazier be an All-Star?’ And my question back was, ‘Why should Adam Frazier not be the starting second baseman for the National League team?’ That’s a better question for me because I think he’s leading the league in hits. He’s playing great defense.”

Frazier has bounced back from a rough 2020, when he slashed .230/.297/.364 with 48 hits — including seven doubles and seven home runs — but tied for the team lead with 23 RBIs and was a Gold Glove finalist. Now, he ranks among the top leadoff hitters in the game, with 28 extra-base hits, 113 total bases and a .381 on-base percentage.

“I guess it’s pretty gratifying,” Frazier said. “Any time you get recognition at the national level, it’s pretty awesome. I’ve always thought of myself as a bat-first kind of guy, so to finally put something together, it’s pretty satisfying, I guess. At the same time, I know there’s a ways to go in the season, so I’m just trying to take it one day at a time and play good baseball on the offensive side and defensive side.”