Grandal might work at leadoff?

[Lou]

6 hours ago, totdprods said:

Grandal’s OBP is a bit NL-inflated, I would think

It's also inflated by his early career numbers.  All 3 of his .350+ OBP seasons came in his first 4 years, none in his last 3.  In 2017, it was .308

[totdprods]

46 minutes ago, Lou said:

It's also inflated by his early career numbers.  All 3 of his .350+ OBP seasons came in his first 4 years, none in his last 3.  In 2017, it was .308

The ‘17 season looks to be the outlier. In ‘16 it was .339, and ‘18 it was .349, so still quite solid. 

Offensively he reminds me some of Iannetta, with more power and switch-hitting.

[ksangel]

7 hours ago, nate said:

Grandal at leadoff?  Come on, other than a good obp, dude has no leadoff qualities.

And he is going to get way more money than he should.

Agree because if OBP is the main factor for lead off, Albert's career # is .382. 

Possibly will flip flop between Fletcher against lefties and Calhoun against righties.

[Lou]

yeah, let's clog the base paths for Trout. I've always said he needs to hit more singles. 

extra base hits are a false stat. 

[Glen]

Calhoun isn't gonna bounce back. Putting him at leadoff will only increase the pressure on him and make him worse.

Sign Lowrie. It solves a few problems and gives us depth.

[nate]

The only thing that worries me about Lowrie is that he is 34 and he had probably the best year since 2010 when he only played 55 games.

[Stradling]

Just now, nate said:

The only thing that worries me about Lowrie is that he is 34 and he had probably the best year since 2010.

Yea, but he has had two really good seasons in a row in a stadium that isn’t really conducive to great hitting.  I wouldn’t break the bank for him, but two years seems alright.  

[nate]

1 minute ago, Stradling said:

Yea, but he has had two really good seasons in a row in a stadium that isn’t really conducive to great hitting.  I wouldn’t break the bank for him, but two years seems alright.  

Yeah, I can see that, it is just the 5 seasons before that he was a high 600, low 700 OPS.  I don't know that he offers much more to the lineup, but he is lower risk than most of the options out there so if it happens I won't complain.

[Angel Oracle]

As Strad and I have mentioned elsewhere, why not just sign Lowrie (to a two year deal)?    And then either trade for Avila or re-sign Machete as the veteran to pair with Briceno?

They would likely pay significantly less doing that than signing Grandal, and get a rock solid leadoff guy in Lowrie (.360 OBP in 2017-2018) who still has decent/average speed and solid pop for a leadoff guy (127 XBH's in 2017-2018), as well as a veteran catcher.  

[Halodays]

Why not Ohtani? He's got better than average wheels and had an OBP% of .361. I'd rather have his bat in the middle of the order but the Angels don't really have a lead-off guy. If Calhoun or Fletcher start off the season on fire then they could move them to the top of the order.

 

[totdprods]

1 minute ago, Halodays said:

Why not Ohtani? He's got better than average wheels and had an OBP% of .361. I'd rather have his bat in the middle of the order but the Angels don't really have a lead-off guy. If Calhoun or Fletcher start off the season on fire then they could move them to the top of the order.

Not totally against it, but would rather have him driving in runs. 

If our 7-9 hitters are solid, then yes, definitely an option, especially if Fletcher is hitting 9th.

[Halokingfish]

With Lucroy on board doesn’t seem likely Grandal is an option. What about Andrelton Simmons? Strikes out way less than most guys, gets on base at a pretty good clip, can definitely steal some bases and an ok amount of power. If he can take more walks I’d give him the job. 

[jessecrall]

4 minutes ago, Halokingfish said:

With Lucroy on board doesn’t seem likely Grandal is an option. What about Andrelton Simmons? Strikes out way less than most guys, gets on base at a pretty good clip, can definitely steal some bases and an ok amount of power. If he can take more walks I’d give him the job. 

Simmons has said he doesn't feel comfortable leading off and in 77 games batting 1st, he has a .597 ops so maybe there's something to that...Expect Calhoun to get the best shot at it with Cozart, Fletcher or, if he has one helluva spring, Rengifo, given a look as well.

[Docwaukee]

I'm definitely going to clear my schedule for opening day so I can be available when Ausmus writes Kole into the leadoff spot.  

[Docwaukee]

btw, I do think that Kole is the incumbent for the lead off spot.  Maybe we see fletcher there vs lefties.  

[jessecrall]

As badly as Calhoun finished the season, he did have 18 walks in his last 25 games; if he isn't pounding grounders to the right side every other at bat, he should be fine leading off, at least against righties.

[ettin]

There will probably be several interchangeable options for lead-off.

vs. RHP: Tommy La Stella, Kole Calhoun, and perhaps Taylor Ward.

vs. LHP: Zack Cozart, Kevan Smith, and Taylor Ward.

[Lou]

wait a minute.

does this mean Grandal and his anchor won't be leading off?