As spring training draws near, as well as the regular season, one of the biggest conversations going on around Cardinal Nation is the future of the lead-off spot for the St. Louis Cardinals. Currently, there are two players that are at the top of the list for the spot in the lineup.
They are third baseman Matt Carpenter and second baseman Kolten Wong.
Earlier in the month, Wong made it clear that he wanted to be the guy in the lead-off spot for the Cardinals.
“I would love to be leadoff,” Wong said at the team’s annual Winter Warmup fan festival. “I’m more than happy to be at eight, too. So, we’ll see what happens. Hopefully, No. 1 is the spot.” Last season, Wong hit 11 home runs and 61 RBI’s to go along with a career high batting average of .262.
He had his In 52 games, he batted .247 with a .303 on-base percentage along with six homers and 21 RBIs.
As for Carpenter, it is obvious where his best success occurs when based on what spot in the lineup he’s at. Last year, when he hit as the leadoff hitter in 80 games, he batted .312 with 22 home runs and 50 RBI with an OPS of 1.022. In the second spot of the lineup, he hit .225 with six home runs and 33 RBI with a OPS of .700.
Wong did bat in the lead-off spot at points during the 2015 season, but saw much less success. In 52 games, he batted .247 with a .303 on-base percentage along with six home runs and 21 RBI’s.
But if he loses his spot, Carpenter has no problem being placed in a different spot in the batting order.
“If Mike (Matheny) calls me tomorrow and says, ‘Hey you’re going to bat in the three-hole tomorrow,’ it’s not going to affect what I do as a hitter,” Carpenter stated, per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Carpenter led the entire team with 28 home runs last season, being the only player on the team with 20 home runs.
Both players play big roles within the offense of the Cardinals, so just having them in the lineup is a big plus.
In what order is another story…
(Photo Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports)
