Shifting against the right-handed Paul DeJong in the fifth inning Saturday, Adam Frazier found himself on the shortstop side of second base.
As DeJong’s grounder split himself and Kevin Newman, Frazier took the deeper route, thinking the shortstop would have the better angle. Once it became clear that Newman wouldn’t get it, Frazier took his shot.
The result was a surefire SportsCenter highlight:
If you want to get into the metrics, Frazier’s throw was 66.6 mph despite making it mid-air. It covered 119 feet.
Or, to put it simply...
“It's one of the best plays I have ever seen a second baseman make,” Derek Shelton said.
It may have come in a losing effort, as the Pirates fell to the Cardinals, 12-5, at PNC Park, but that play will be one of the best any Pirate makes in the field this year.
“I mean, honestly, I didn't know if I would have time to get him or not, so I just caught it, jumped and threw it,” Frazier said. “Mo' [Colin Moran] made a nice pick over there. He completed it. So, yeah, cool play."
The praise of Moran comes on a day when the first baseman had trouble converting a couple plays. While not charged with an error, a couple balls got past him on the night.
Frazier appreciates the effort he's making at his new position though, and the two throw questions at each other every day.
“We work on that stuff, but he's getting better every day,” Frazier said. “I think he's eager to learn and that's what makes him get better every day.”
Frazier might be underselling his part of the equation it by just saying “cool play.” When they got back to the dugout, starter Trevor Cahill asked if that was the best play he had ever made.
All Frazier could give was am “uh, yeah, i don’t know.” With some time to reflect on it postgame, he could say “I guess it’s up there.” Hardly definitive.
“It’s exciting baseball,” Cahill said. “He made a lot of good plays today, and I hadn’t seen him a whole lot, but it’s been pretty impressive so far.”
Adam....Jeter? Derek Frazier? Woof bro @A_Fraz12
— Steven Brault (@SquidBrault) May 2, 2021
It has been a slow start defensively so far for Frazier. After being nominated for Gold Gloves the last two years, he’s had some miscues early. He made just one error in the abbreviated 2020 season, but has made four already in roughly half the time played. After being worth five and six defensive runs saved the last two seasons, entering play Saturday, he was at -4.
Recently Frazier has been converting more of the difficult plays, signaling that he might be righting the ship after a sloppy start. It’s going to take more than one play to do that, something that he recognizes.
“I just try to catch 'em all that I can,” Frazier said. “Last night with the diving play, followed it up with an error, so that's all I was thinking about, is just making the next play."
