Adam Frazier wows with Jeter impersonation

PITTSBURGH -- Could 2021 be the year that Adam Frazier finally grabs the elusive Gold Glove Award? If he makes a few more plays like the one that he made Saturday night against the Cardinals, it could be.

As the Pirates worked to come back in a 12-5 loss to St. Louis on Saturday night at PNC Park, Frazier made a highlight-reel jump-throw to keep the bases clean in the fifth inning for starter Trevor Cahill.

With one out, Paul DeJong -- who cranked a three-run homer in the first inning -- ripped a 101 mph grounder just to the left of second base. From his position just behind second in the defensive shift, Frazier bounded to his right and reached across his body to snag the ground ball, exchanging for a quick jump-throw to first base, a la Derek Jeter.

“I mean, honestly, I didn't know if I would have time to get him or not,” Frazier said, “so I just caught it, jumped and threw it.”

The 66.6 mph throw, which covered 119 feet, got to first baseman Colin Moran on a brief hop to the loud applause of the 7,331 in attendance at PNC Park.

“It's one of the best plays I have ever seen a second baseman make,” manager Derek Shelton said. “In today's game, with the way you position defensively, you get the second baseman on that side. But you're watching the replay and he was probably five steps onto the grass on the back side and had to do the jump-throw.”

“I asked him when he came in [to the dugout],” Cahill said. “I was like, ‘Is that the best play that you’ve ever made?’ And normal Fraz he was like, ‘Uh, yeah, I don’t know.’ But yeah, it was awesome.”

Frazier has contributed regularly on offense this season as well, evidenced by his one-out double in the seventh that helped the Pirates cut the deficit from four runs to two. However, the Cardinals’ middle of the order was too much for Pittsburgh’s pitchers, as St. Louis’ four through six hitters contributed eight RBIs.

However, defensive metrics have been slow to show. April didn’t bring exceptional fielding numbers for Frazier, who was last among all qualified starters at second base in FanGraphs’ defensive value (-1.2). He’s committed four errors this season, which was the highest mark entering Saturday among all Major League second basemen, which includes a misplayed grounder on Friday that allowed a run to score.

But historically, he’s been one of the most exceptional players at the position. Entering Saturday, between 2019 and ‘21, Frazier had recorded 19 outs above average, which was eight better than the next best second baseman -- Kolten Wong, who beat out Frazier for the Gold Glove Award last season.

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Frazier said this spring that when he initially came up to the big leagues in 2016, he wasn’t quite comfortable fielding second base at the level expected of an everyday Major Leaguer.

“I think as guys get older, they get some experience and they start to feel more comfortable,” he said. “It’s the same for me. I wasn’t very good at second base when I first came in. Started getting more comfortable, getting more reps in practice, figured out what I need to work on.”

Now he’s a key cog in an infield defense that has, on the whole, made strides from a rough 2020, when they committed 47 errors in 60 games. Double-play partner Kevin Newman is tied for second among all shortstops in outs above average (3) and third baseman Erik González is on the positive side of the metric, too.

Frazier specifically shouted out Moran, who made the pick on the end of the stellar jump-throw. Moran converted from being the Pirates’ third baseman to first after the Josh Bell trade this offseason and he’s said before that he’s beginning to settle in and get comfortable with the stretch.

“We work on that stuff, but he's getting better every day,” Frazier said of Moran. “I think he's eager to learn and that's what makes him get better every day.”

Frazier believes that this infield group as a whole now has a large base of innings to learn from, and they -- and he -- have grown stronger and more confident.

“We had some experience and I was just kind of a small piece of that,” Frazier said. “I’d say now -- or the past couple [of years] -- it's definitely pretty stout.”