Former Rutgers Baseball Star Todd Frazier Named NL All-Star Starter

Former Rutgers baseball star and current Cincinnati Reds third baseman Todd Frazier was named a starter for the National League All-Star team on Sunday. This is Frazier’s second straight All-Star selection, and his first career start.

Frazier will start at third base for the NL in front of his home crowd at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. He was awarded the start by receiving 9.2 million fan votes, beating out the Cardinals’ Matt Carpenter (7.1 million votes) and Cubs rookie Kris Bryant (3.9 million), among others.

Frazier thanked his supporters on Twitter Sunday night.

httpss://twitter.com/FlavaFraz21/status/617844424056414210

Frazier has certainly earned the start, batting .284/.342/.596 with 25 home runs and 54 RBIs through 80 games. His 24 doubles are tied for the National League lead, and his 193 total bases are the most in baseball.

The 29-year old from Toms River, NJ set personal bests in just about every offensive category in 2014, and could outdo most of them in 2015. After totaling 163 hits, 22 doubles, 29 home runs and 80 RBIs last year, he is on pace for 184, 48, 50 and 108 this year, respectively.

Former Rutgers baseball standout Todd Frazier will be the starting third baseman for the National League in next week’s MLB All-Star Game (Getty Images).

Before joining the Reds, Frazier enjoyed a remarkable collegiate career at Rutgers from 2005-2007. He holds Rutgers’ single-season home run record with 22 round trippers in 2007. His 210 career runs scored is the most all-time by a Scarlet Knight, despite Frazier only playing three seasons on the banks.

Frazier chose to forgo his senior season after being selected in the first round (34^th overall) by the Reds in the 2007 MLB Draft. In three seasons at Rutgers, he slashed .347/.458/.625, tallying 42 home runs and 152 RBIs over 174 career games as a Scarlet Knight.

It is yet to be seen if Frazier will take part in this year’s Home Run Derby, which will take place at Great American Ballpark on Monday, July 13. He was the runner-up in last year’s Derby, making it all the way to the final round before being defeated by then-Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.

The 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game will take place on the evening of Tuesday, July 14.