Teams such as the Atlanta Braves have a well-known middle infield duo with Dansby Swanson and Ozzie Albies. DJ LeMahieu and Gleyber Torres of the Yankees are another known middle infield duo. However, there are some shortstop/second base duos that do not get as much attention. One of them could be Kevin Newman and Adam Frazier of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Here is an overview of how they stack up on both offense and defense.
Kevin Newman (Image from Flipboard)
The most homers either of these guys has hit in a single season was 12 by Kevin Newman just last year in 2019. Frazier was close to that number in both 2018 and 2019, as he hit 10 dingers in both of those years. They aren’t the strongest hitters in the league, but they find other ways to contribute on the offensive end. Not everyone on the team has to hit 30 homers for a team to make a playoff run, but the Pirates may want to try and add a player with that capability. Last season, Josh Bell led the team in homers with 37. However, the next highest was Starling Marte with 23 homers, and he is not on the team anymore.
Other than Newman having a .247 on-base percentage in 2018 when he played in just 31 games, the next lowest OBP either of these guys have had in a single season is .336. That was Frazier’s OBP in 2019, while Newman’s was a little higher at .353. Frazier has the highest of the two in a single season with .356.
When it comes to RBI and runs scored, Frazier scored more, while Newman had more runs batted in in 2019. Frazier scored 80 times and Newman had 64 RBI. Having both guys that can score and guys that get RBI can be useful to an offense.
Adam Frazier (Image from Flipboard)
Adam Frazier has Kevin Newman beat statistically on defense. In 2019, Frazier had a .989 fielding percentage at second base. He had 222 putouts, 327 assists and just six errors. Newman’s fielding percentage at short in 2019 was .973. He had 124 putouts, 235 assists and 10 errors at shortstop last season. Newman also aided in 43 double plays from short in 2019, while Frazier contributed to 78 from second base last season.
Feature Image Courtesy of Taiwan News.
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