Arkansas Online

New Travs make impression with power vs. Naturals

MITCHELL GLADSTONE

TRAVELERS 5, NATURALS 2

Patrick Frick was somewhere in southern Washington a week ago Sunday when his phone rang.

The Mariners’ 2019 14thround pick knew exactly what the call meant: He was going to be a Class AA ballplayer. A few minutes later, teammate Jack Larsen learned a similar fate.

In their excitement, the pair was blissfully unaware of the trip that lay ahead of them — a 3.5-hour bus ride, followed by a six-plus-hour connecting flight and then nearly four more hours on a bus once in Arkansas. Frick admitted that even a week later, he’s still catching up on sleep.

Not that you would’ve noticed it Tuesday night at Dickey-Stephens Park.

Frick delivered the big blow in the Travelers’ series opener against Northwest Arkansas, lifting a three-run homer in the second inning, and Larsen blasted a 423-foot solo shot for good measure as the Travs eased to a 5-2 win. Outside of a two-out, two-run double in the fourth, the Naturals’ offense was quiet despite logging nine hits to the Travs’ six.

“Extra-base hits were a big focus for me [this season] because in 2019 I didn’t have many, especially home runs,” Frick said. “I’ve taken a big jump in the power department, and they want to see me maintain that here.”

The 24-year-old shortstop played just 60 games in 2019 after being drafted out of Wake Forest and managed 77 total bases with no homers despite a .302 batting average. In a similar stint this season — 63 games and 229 at-bats — Frick was hitting .310 yet had logged 118 total bases with 19 doubles and 7 homers before his promotion from Everett to Arkansas.

If Frick’s first homer had come on the road last week when the Travs played in Springfield, perhaps it wouldn’t have been as notable.

But that his first Class AA homer came in his first at-bat at Dickey-Stephens — a notorious pitcher’s park — was something.

Larsen’s moonshot two innings later landed on the walkway atop the right-field berm.

Since arriving July 27 with Frick, Larsen has hit in each of his six games as a Trav, blasting homers in three consecutive contests against Springfield, including last Wednesday when he tied a career-high with 7 RBI.

Together, Frick and Larsen comprised a large contingent of Mariners youngsters who have made the jump from High-A to Class AA in recent weeks.

First, it was starting pitcher Brandon Williamson, and he was followed shortly thereafter by top prospect Julio Rodriguez. Then fellow starting pitcher Matt Brash got the call and a week later, outfielder Zach DeLoach joined them in North Little Rock.

The last two series have seen the arrival of six more new faces, including Frick and Larsen, who played shortstop and center field, respectively, Tuesday night.

“Half of us here, we just want to win, and we know they want to [win], too,” Frick said of the Travs’ holdovers. “But having [Larsen and DeLoach] here, it makes me more comfortable getting to know everyone in the locker room.”

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2021-08-04T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-08-04T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://edition.arkansasonline.com/article/282961043180175

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