Time to Move Mauer to Leadoff

[bwille]

On my blog for RantSports.com, I wrote a story today about the concept of moving Joe Mauer into the leadoff spot for the Minnesota Twins and the positives it could have on the Twins' lineup.

 

"Other hitters like Paul Molitor, Wade Boggs and Pete Rose were dominant leadoff hitters who weren’t the fleetest of foot and yet, they still succeeded and became some of the best leadoff hitters in history. Mauer could fit into a similar mold with the Twins and have the same career trajectory as some of baseball’s greats."

 

What do you think Twins Daily Community? Have I gone off the deep end? Take a look and let me know what you think!

 

Joe Mauer: Minnesota Twins Would Be Wise To Move Top Hitter to Leadoff

[diehardtwinsfan]

I could see it if no other candidates emerge, but it will be a cold day in you know where before Gardy considers such heresy.

[kab21]

It might make sense with the current lineup but Mauer is still a great 2/3 hitter. Of course the other issue is that there might not be a true leadoff hitter coming up for the Twins in the next couple of years.

[Brad Swanson]

Aaron Hicks is still a future leadoff hitter, possibly as early as later this season. Mauer would be great in that spot too, but I won't write Hicks off yet.

[pioneers3]

Paul Molitor-504 SB's I would cross him off the list. When Paul was with the Twins, yes he wasn't as fleet as foot as I remember him with the Brewers.

[kab21]

Aaron Hicks is still a future leadoff hitter, possibly as early as later this season. Mauer would be great in that spot too, but I won't write Hicks off yet.

 

Possibly but I never thought the BA would be high. I could see him hitting in the .260's with a .330 OBP. And he's pretty much the only option coming up through the system until Rosario or Buxton.

[Brad Swanson]

Possibly but I never thought the BA would be high. I could see him hitting in the .260's with a .330 OBP. And he's pretty much the only option coming up through the system until Rosario or Buxton.

 

That's fair and I agree, although I think a .350 OBP or a but higher could be possible as well.

[Aaron Cross]

When Molitor takes over next season, he'll bat Mauer leadoff.

[Aaron Cross]

If Mauer were batting leadoff today, he'd have been batting with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the top of the 8th instead of Dozier.

[Guest USAFChief]

If Mauer were batting leadoff today, he'd have been batting with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the top of the 8th instead of Dozier.

Laugh. Out. Loud.

[Brock Beauchamp]

In the short term, it's not an insane idea but ideally, you'd want Aaron Hicks and his speed leading off in the future.

 

Overall, I'm pretty meh on the idea and I'm just happy that Joe is second in this lineup.

[Don't Feed the Greed Guy]

Dozier is doing suprisingly well. Two games is a ridiculously small sample size, but a .455 OBP is a pretty good start. Batting leadoff might work with Dozier's skill set, and batting approach. Let's wait and see...

[Thrylos]

Not sure how I feel about this. I really do not care about smallball and having Mauer at #2 takes care of that (other than the few hit and runs that Gardy still calls.) The Twins had an ideal projected 30/30 leadoff man (and he was almost 20/40 last season) who they let go because Gardy could not stomach him. Hicks might get there and patience is needed. Buxton is a good 3 years away.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Not sure how I feel about this. I really do not care about smallball and having Mauer at #2 takes care of that (other than the few hit and runs that Gardy still calls.) The Twins had an ideal projected 30/30 leadoff man (and he was almost 20/40 last season) who they let go because Gardy could not stomach him. Hicks might get there and patience is needed. Buxton is a good 3 years away.

 

Never mind that the "30/30" guy they had struggles to make outs less than 70% of the time, which pretty much solidifies him as an awful leadoff option.

[YourHouseIsMyHouse]

I'd rather keep him #2, but leadoff would work well too. I wouldn't worry about him clogging up the base paths since the Twins cannot steal bases anyway.

[kab21]

Not sure how I feel about this. I really do not care about smallball and having Mauer at #2 takes care of that (other than the few hit and runs that Gardy still calls.) The Twins had an ideal projected 30/30 leadoff man (and he was almost 20/40 last season) who they let go because Gardy could not stomach him. Hicks might get there and patience is needed. Buxton is a good 3 years away.

 

He was all kinds of awful and can barely maintain a .300 OBP. It's nice he had a breakout year and is finally a halfway decent player but I think Twins fans would have lost their minds had Gomez stayed. And he's still batting 7th for Milwaukee.