Making Trout the Leadoff Batter

[70runner]

Trout is the most productive hitter in the lineup, and arguably in the AL. You want to put him in a position to bat with more runners on base, not less. The issue isn't Trout hitting 3rd, the issue is the guys batting in front of Trout.

 

and that RISP hole in the lineup behind him.

 

Acquire a high OBP guy to leadoff (Span?), Calhoun, Trout, TBD, Pujols (if you must)...etc.  You don't lead off with your best hitter, you put some guys on base ahead of your best hitter.  You also don't follow your best hitter with a terrible RISP guy even if he hits home runs.  Pujols hole in the lineup was easily worth 4-5 games.  Fix this and leave Trout where he is. 

[Blarg]

Tank, Eckstein was a career. 349 Obp leadoff hitter. The Angels would have been a different team this season with him in his prime as leadoff.

That pushes Aybar back to 7th where he belongs and with a run of Aybar, Perez and Giavotella running up to leadoff there would definitely be more runners on base for Calhoun and Trout. It would have taken just that one type of guy to start things and he is out there in free agency. His name is not Cespedes.

[Angel Oracle]

Eckstein from the beginning put up a solid OBP.

 

This team is in serious need of an OBP infusion.   It's pretty bad when Freese had the 2nd best OBP in 2015 at only .323.

 

And the fact that all 5 AL post-season teams were in the top 6 in runs scored proves that while pitching, defense, and timely hitting win post-season games, you normally need to score runs to get there.

Edited October 8, 2015 by Angel Oracle

[Tank]

Tank, Eckstein was a career. 349 Obp leadoff hitter. The Angels would have been a different team this season with him in his prime as leadoff.

That pushes Aybar back to 7th where he belongs and with a run of Aybar, Perez and Giavotella running up to leadoff there would definitely be more runners on base for Calhoun and Trout. It would have taken just that one type of guy to start things and he is out there in free agency. His name is not Cespedes.

 

so. greinke?

[ten ocho recon scout]

And in all honesty, after looking at the stats the other day, calhouns slipping obp is a real concern. Batting him second in front of trout is also a problem (unless he improves, which he absolutely can).

[VariousCrap]

Leading off Giavotella was a sub. 300 obp with a. 613 OPS (paying attention various crap?) as a number 9 hitter his was Trout light hitting. 322 with a. 376 Obp and .859 OPS. Some players fit certain roles well and batting 9th was Giavotella's best fit by far which did not translate to any other place in the batting oder.

 

 

 

All that shows me is Johnny G is capable of a higher OBP.  The question the Angels should be asking themselves is how do they get the .376 OBP Johnny G to show up in the lead-off spot?

Edited October 8, 2015 by VariousCrap

[Tank]

What kind of bunter is Johnny g.? Could be a helpful asset if he learns how to use it to his advantage.

[Troll Daddy]

Tank, Eckstein was a career. 349 Obp leadoff hitter. The Angels would have been a different team this season with him in his prime as leadoff.

That pushes Aybar back to 7th where he belongs and with a run of Aybar, Perez and Giavotella running up to leadoff there would definitely be more runners on base for Calhoun and Trout. It would have taken just that one type of guy to start things and he is out there in free agency. His name is not Cespedes.

Dude, you're on a roll.

Good stuff

[Blarg]

All that shows me is Johnny G is capable of a higher OBP.  The question the Angels should be asking themselves is how do they get the .376 OBP Johnny G to show up in the lead-off spot?

 

Maybe you and Scioscia should get together and talk about that since he believes Aybar's .326 OBP at 7th will somehow appear as a leadoff hitter. Or you could leave a guy where he is the most productive and find that player that is a natural for leadoff.

[Mark68]

Tank, Eckstein was a career. 349 Obp leadoff hitter. The Angels would have been a different team this season with him in his prime as leadoff.

That pushes Aybar back to 7th where he belongs and with a run of Aybar, Perez and Giavotella running up to leadoff there would definitely be more runners on base for Calhoun and Trout. It would have taken just that one type of guy to start things and he is out there in free agency. His name is not Cespedes.

HIS name might not be Cespedes, but somebody with the name of Cespedes could fit in well between Trout & Pujols (assuming Pujols would ever be moved down to 5th).

[VariousCrap]

Maybe you and Scioscia should get together and talk about that since he believes Aybar's .326 OBP at 7th will somehow appear as a leadoff hitter. Or you could leave a guy where he is the most productive and find that player that is a natural for leadoff.

 

 

Aybar historically has never been patient at the plate.  Johnny G, in his first full season, showed much better patience at the plate than Aybar.  The question is, whether he become more patient at the plate.

 

IMO, the lead-off hitter situation is going to have to be fixed in-house.  I don't see the Angels finding anyone outside the team to fill that role.  Do you?  If so, who?

[Taylor]

On 10/9/2015 at 11:15 AM, VariousCrap said:

IMO, the lead-off hitter situation is going to have to be fixed in-house.  I don't see the Angels finding anyone outside the team to fill that role.  Do you?  If so, who?

Escobar?

[JAHV76]

Nice bump 

[Ohtaniland]

The ideal leadoff guy that would've been a perfect fit for us right now at 2b is Jean Segura who hit .319 / 20hrs / 63rbi's / .868ops batting first. 

F'n Dipoto and Arte with their "win now".....

[Blarg]

If you completely ignore Segura's cumulative OBP of .301 and .660 OPS previously to 2016, then yeah, you are right.

[ten ocho recon scout]

On 10/7/2015 at 6:44 PM, Blarg said:

You simply don't just wave the magic leadoff hitter wand and a player suddenly becomes a. 350 Obp hitter. Giavotella is 27, he is what he is and isn't going to jump 30+ points in his on base stats, he isn't that talented.

You cant wave the magic wand to make Gio a leadoff guy, but you can waive Gio 

[Blarg]

Harsh but true.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

On 10/6/2015 at 5:16 PM, Kody Mac said:

Why not? This offense was electric with Trout leading off. I can spare 10 home runs for better run production. Plus, just cuz he leads off doesn't mean he's going to be hitting a ton of solo shots... SLG% isn't all about homers...

He led the league in runs last season batting 3rd. So he scores right where he is, plus he drives in 100 runs also.