Second base has been a position the Orioles have lacked in since the departure of Jonathan Schoop in 2018.
Going from names like Rio Ruiz, Pat Valaika and Rougned Odor, there was no clear set man at the position for the Orioles. But this season, Adam Frazier has been a mainstay at second and in the O’s lineup.
Signing a one-year deal in the offseason, Frazier was known as a scrappy, contact-first infielder, who was likely going to be a filler until some of the O’s infield prospects were ready to be called up.
Frazier has received a lot of negative comments towards his play and him starting over top prospect Jordan Westburg as of late. Now, whether you go back and forth about it is up to you, but I want to show that Frazier being an everyday player actually makes sense and why his at-bats are not “empty” ones.
Runners in scoring position
You might not believe this, but Frazier is one of the more trustworthy guys on the Orioles you want at the plate when runners are in scoring position. Frazier has had 91 at-bats with runners in scoring position and is slashing .297/.377/560 with a .938 OPS. He has 27 hits, three doubles, seven home runs and 42 RBIs in those scenarios.
To put that into a more detailed context, Frazier is fifth in OPS, sixth in average, fifth in OBP, fifth in hits, tied for second in home runs and sixth in RBIs on the Orioles with runners in scoring position. Also, Frazier has 13 strikeouts in these scenarios, which means he has less strikeouts than guys like Ryan Mountcastle, Anthony Santander and Gunnar Henderson with RISP.
Luck not on his side
In 2023, Frazier currently has an average of .239, but his expected batting average based on his balls in play is .270, which is a whole .031 points higher. Frazier has always had this issue, though, since he had a season where he hit .238, but his XBA was .288.
It’s really difficult to not only consecutively get in a grove but also have an increased batting average when you are expected to have a certain amount of hits that get taken away by great defense.
It’s also a big understanding that average doesn’t mean everything in today’s game. For example, Houston Astros second baseman José Altuve has a .313 average, but he’s collected a lot of dinky hits, so his expected batting average is just a .249.
Improvements from last year
I could honestly use the excuse of Frazier being an All-Star in 2021, but there is no point, as I don’t like living in the past when talking about the present. With that said, though, if we are looking at the past, Frazier has improved this year from last.
His average is around the same, but his slugging has improved dramatically, and so has his OPS. He also has had a career-high this year in home runs (13) and just posted a new career-high in RBIs (54).
Frazier has also improved his advanced stats like wRc+, xwOBA and his hard hit percentage. The only thing that hasn’t improved is his defense, but he has still played an average second base.
Frazier has four errors on the year, with three of them being fielding and one being throwing. He finished last year with six errors in total, and while his DRS and other advanced defensive stats don’t show his Gold Glove status of 2021, he has still shown signs and has made multiple outstanding game-saving plays at second this year.
Veteran postseason experience
The final thing I’ll go over about Frazier is his veteran postseason experience. The Orioles are currently looking towards the ALDS, and the team is so young that just three players on the roster have postseason experience (Kyle Gibson, Aaron Hicks and Frazier).
Frazier had a big impact during the Mariners 2022 postseason run after putting the nail in the coffin against Toronto to send Seattle to the ALDS.
With that said, Frazier likely won’t return to the club in the offseason due to the rise of Jordan Westburg and the likes of Joey Ortiz and Connor Norby waiting in Triple-A. But saying Frazier is a liability and his at-bats are “empty” is just false.
Frazier isn’t as important of a hitter as Santander or Henderson, but he gets the job done when needed and is a big reason for the Orioles’ success in 2023.
What do you think of Adam Frazier and his 2023 season? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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