Frazier shines again in #ASGWorthy push
Reds offering prizes for fans who reach 35-ballot max
CINCINNATI -- With Reds third baseman Todd Frazier trailing by a large margin in the latest round of the 2015 Esurance All-Star Game ballot, the club is pulling out all the stops to get more votes. Frazier is pulling out a few stops of his own.
• Cast your Esurance All-Star ballot for Frazier and other #ASGWorthy players
In the Reds' 5-0 victory over the Marlins on Friday night, Frazier went 2-for-4 with his 20th double of the season and made a dazzling diving pick at third base.
Before the game, Reds chief operating officer Phil Castellini met with the media to advocate for more fan votes for Frazier.
"We need a Reds starter in the lineup," Castellini said. "I think you're going to see some Reds pitchers certainly, but Frazier is the most eligible, I think, relatively to statistics. He's had a great couple of days, and it's time to get out there, Reds nation. Got to go hard just like [when] we got Joey Votto voted the face of Major League Baseball a couple years ago. We need to do the same thing to get Todd in the starting lineup."
Castellini added that fans who vote the maximum 35 times will automatically be eligible to win a number of prizes. Some of the prizes include a meet-and-greet with Frazier, commemorative All-Star Game baseballs with different logos and four tickets to T-Mobile MLB All-Star FanFest.
In the latest voting update, Frazier trailed fellow National League Central division third basemen Kris Bryant of the Cubs and Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals. Frazier had 1,939,573 votes, while Carpenter led the group with 4,455,782 votes and Bryant followed with 2,198,522.
Frazier expressed frustration with the current voting totals this week, potentially triggering the latest push from the Reds' organization.
Video: DET@CIN: Frazier on why he should start All-Star Game
"Yeah, a little bit, if you want the truth," Frazier said, when asked if he was frustrated with the current voting numbers before Wednesday's game against the Tigers. "It's tough, you always want to start in whatever you do, especially in baseball. I'm not mad at anybody. That's the way it is, [but] I think it needs to change. Right now it's just the way it's going about it.
"Whether or not I start, I just want an opportunity to play. Hopefully I can make a push. Maybe I can make a couple of calls back to some guys in [New] Jersey and we can get it going a little more [in the voting]."
Frazier is hitting .297/.363/.641 with 22 home runs, 46 RBIs and 43 extra-base hits, which leads the Majors.
"It's time to get Todd Frazier voted into the starting All-Star lineup here," Castellini said, "and so we've got a lot of ground to make up."