Pirates leadoff hitter Adam Frazier finding opposite is true with his approach to plate

The ballpark name has changed from Miller Park to American Family Field, but when it comes to batting against the Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier is right at home.

“I do like hitting in Milwaukee,” Frazier said. “I can say that.”

Frazier has a career .307/.358/.471 slash line with five doubles, two triples, four home runs — the most at any opponent — and 19 RBIs in 39 games at Milwaukee and is proving this weekend that he hits the Brewers no matter where he’s batting in the lineup.

Frazier went 2 for 5 with two RBIs while hitting leadoff in Friday night’s 6-1 win, then went 2 for 4 in Saturday’s 7-1 loss when Pirates manager Derek Shelton dropped the left-handed hitter to the No. 7 spot in the order to lengthen the lineup against lefty Brett Anderson.

“I think against division (opponents), you kind of lock in,” Frazier said. “I wouldn’t say lock in more — because all the games matter — but you see guys over and over again, and as you see them you start figuring out what they’re going to do to you. You know what their stuff does and how they may attack you and what pitches you’re looking for and stuff like that. I know I have some success against Milwaukee, but I don’t feel anything different.”

Frazier’s statistics show a big difference from his start last season, when he batted .155 with one double, two home runs and four RBIs with 11 strikeouts and four walks through the first 14 games.

Through the first 14 games this season, Frazier is leading the Pirates in hits (17), doubles (five), triples (two), RBIs (nine), batting average (.315) and on-base percentage (.415) and has more walks (eight) than strikeouts (five).

“Yes, but I had a pretty bad month last year,” Frazier said. “It’s really just trying not to get rotational. Stay simple. Timing is everything. If you can be on time, be early with the setup, then it’s gonna allow you not have to worry about spinning on the ball.”

While Frazier’s hard-hit rate is down to a career-low 83.9 mph, his launch angle has increased from 12.3 degrees to 19.8, according to Statcast. He’s showing a better eye, drawing a career-high walk rate (12.3%) and a career-low strikeout rate (7.7%).

What has stood out more than anything is Frazier’s ability to go opposite field with a career-high 42% of his hits. Frazier said he learned to stay inside on pitches and use the whole field at an early age, around 7 or 8.

“That gives you got more room for error,” Frazier said, “and that’s something I’ve always tried to do.”

Frazier, however, admits to getting “pull-happy” in the minors and early in his major league career, which led to more outs. Now, he’s concentrating on staying inside the ball with a compact swing and hitting the ball where it’s pitched.

That approach has led to good results as he’s hit safely in 13 of 14 games. He went opposite field on two of his three hits Wednesday against San Diego, including a double and a two-run single and again for another double Thursday against the Padres. He pulled a three-run triple to right field Friday against the Brewers.

“When you’re short to the ball, you essentially have the ability to hit all pitches to all fields because of how you adjust the barrel,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We’ve seen that out of Adam this year. Some of the balls he’s hit to the back side have been line drives that the exit velocity hasn’t been as high, but they’ve been line drives. One of the things that I would guess but don’t know is his line drive rate is probably higher than it’s been throughout his career. You’re seeing the angle of the ball come off. Sometimes those balls with guys who are really short to the ball aren’t hit as hard but they’re hit at the right angle for hits. Sometimes it’s important to hit it when it lands in the grass, not hit it hard right at people.”

Frazier has been especially good with runners in scoring position, with a .301 career average boosted by going 6 for 9 this season, yet proved Shelton’s point Thursday against the Padres. With two outs and the bases loaded in the second inning, he hit one directly to pitcher Chris Paddack to make the final out of the inning in the 8-3 loss.

“You kind of lock in a little more with runners in scoring position,” Frazier said. “The pitcher kind of has to give you something to hit most of the time. I got out of that approach the other day with the bases loaded and got too aggressive with Paddack. Got myself out and got him out of a jam. But the pitcher’s the one that’s in the tough spot. So, if you can stay within yourself and make him come to you, you usually have some success. And that’s just what I try to do.”