Happy Thanksgiving to all. Between
food, family, and football, I have found time to release part two of my
analysis on leadoff hitters. Moving
across the American League, we come to a division that was picked to be a
runaway and turned into a dogfight. The
Tigers signed Prince Fielder to replace the injured Victor Martinez and every
prediction had them as a shoo-in to win the division. The Royals had injuries to key players early
in the season, but put together a solid second half. The Twins found some offensive sparks in Josh
Willingham and Ryan Doumit, but struggled from the mound. The Indians showed moments of brilliance, but
also had an 11-game losing streak shortly before losing 15 of 16. The White Sox surprised everyone, not only by
giving the Tigers some competition in the division, but by leading the division
for a large portion of the season. The
Tigers finally took the lead for good on September 26 and won the central by
three games before fighting through the Athletics and Yankees and representing
the American League in the World Series.
Each of these teams has concerns to address this offseason, but each
team has pretty solid options to start the order.
Indians
Shin-Soo Choo really
emerged as a force at the leadoff spot in Cleveland. Choo hit
.283/.373/.441 on the season, but tallied .310/.389/.493 in his 99 games
hitting leadoff. He also put up career highs with 43 2B and 88 runs
scored. Choo could fit anywhere from 1-5 in that order, so the Indians do
have options with where to put him.
There are rumors about Cleveland shopping Choo this offseason.
Other options at leadoff would be Michael Brantley, Ezequiel Carrera, or
Jason Kipnis, but with those gaudy numbers the job is really Choo's spot until
he lets it go or the Indians let him go.
Royals
The top spot in Kansas
City comes down to who is in the lineup on any given day. Alex Gordon
split time between first and third in the order and led the majors in doubles
with 51. Lorenzo Cain missed time with injuries to his groin, hip, and
hamstring and was limited to only 61 games. He did manage .266/.316/.419
when he was in the lineup. Between filling in for Cain in center and
pinch-running, Jarrod Dyson managed 30 steals and 52 runs in only 102 games.
Between Gordon, Cain, and Dyson, the Royals have a solid start to a
lineup that has a lot of run-producing potential.
Tigers
Austin Jackson is
a spark plug at the top of the AL Champion Tigers lineup. He
has hit 10+ 3B in all three ML seasons. In 2012, he put up
.300/.377/.479 – including a .331 clip in the 1st inning – and career highs with 16 HRs and 66 RBI in
only 137 games. Jackson is a premier leadoff man and a cornerstone piece
of the Detroit ball club.
Twins
When discussing leadoff
hitters, the stereotype is a diminutive, slap-hitting, base-stealer.
Denard Span fits all of those descriptions. He has been the Twins
leadoff hitter most of his 5-year career. There have been talks of
trading him, especially to the Reds. If Span gets moved, Ben Revere and
his very similar skill set well likely take over the leadoff duties as well as
Span's spot in center field.
White Sox
Chicago found a real
diamond in the rough in the former Rule 5 pick that they claimed off waivers in
2009. Alejandro De Aza took over the top spot in the White Sox order this
year and put up solid numbers (.281/.349/.410) ahead of the potent
run-producers Konerko and Dunn. As a result, De Aza scored 81 runs.
As long as he continues producing, he will remain in the spot.
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