2022 Season | Series #20 | Guardians @ Rockies | June 14-16, 2022

[BimboColesHair]

Does the leadoff hitter have to be fast? Can he just be really good?

Let’s say you don’t currently have a really fast guy available. You have someone coming off the DL that’s slow, and you don’t want to take good hitters who aren’t base stealers out of the lineup. Your current leadoff hitter is fast, but he sucks.

Can you innovate and skip the speed?

Carlos Santana led off for the team in 2016.

People hated it because he only hit .260.

 

[The Oi]

Carlos Santana led off for the team in 2016.

People hated it because he only hit .260.

Looks like he had a solid obp of .366 with those 99 walks that for a leadoff might as well have been singles.

I take it you at least somewhat agree with me here, regardless of what others think?

These guys sure know when to let guys go. Carlos has fallen right off a cliff.

 

[BimboColesHair]

Looks like he had a solid obp of .366 with those 99 walks that for a leadoff might as well have been singles.

I take it you at least somewhat agree with me here, regardless of what others think?

These guys sure know when to let guys go. Carlos has fallen right off a cliff.

I do. Have for a while.

Speed at the 1 spot has been vastly overrated for a number of years. Getting on base is the biggest need. Speed, ability to handle the bat, power, base running skills are all just added bonuses if you find someone with high on-base skills to be your leadoff man.

Thing with Straw is he is traditionally that .350 to .360 OBP guy like Santana. He is just slumping hard and trying to hit himself out of it, as opposed to just playing his normal game and letting the breakout come naturally. OBP skills still play when your hits aren't falling in or getting through. But when your hits aren't falling in or getting through and your BB rate has been cut in half, that's when you're causing problems at the top of the order.

 

[Derek]

I do. Have for a while.

Speed at the 1 spot has been vastly overrated for a number of years. Getting on base is the biggest need. Speed, ability to handle the bat, power, base running skills are all just added bonuses if you find someone with high on-base skills to be your leadoff man.

Thing with Straw is he is traditionally that .350 to .360 OBP guy like Santana. He is just slumping hard and trying to hit himself out of it, as opposed to just playing his normal game and letting the breakout come naturally. OBP skills still play when your hits aren't falling in or getting through. But when your hits aren't falling in or getting through and your BB rate has been cut in half, that's when you're causing problems at the top of the order.

The only issue I ever had with Santana in the lead-off spot was that it wasted some of our power by putting him in a position where he’d see so few runners on base.

That’s one reason why I have liked Straw there (obviously not lately). He’s a high OBP% guy, and you’re not wasting any power because he has none.