Fredi Gonzalez gave B.J. Upton a heads up over the weekend that he might try him in the leadoff spot in Houston, and because of that, Upton might have been one of the very few not surprised by the move.
Gonzalez opened some eyes when the Braves lineup posted Tuesday afternoon with the .202-hitting B.J. Upton atop his lineup, looking for a spark for a struggling Braves offense.
Upton entered the series 1-for-his-past-18 with seven strikeouts and one walk.
“I’m just trying to find a little spark plug there in the first couple spots there, went with that one today,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez had moved rookie Tommy La Stella to the leadoff spot last Wednesday, looking for a spark, but La Stella went 2-for-20 in the five games there.
This move seems to have as much to do with getting La Stella into a spot where he’s more comfortable – and batting second suits his ability to hit for average and use all fields. It also puts Upton in a spot where he has some experience, hitting leadoff for much of his career with Tampa.
Gonzalez said he struggles with the idea of batting three left-handers in a span of four batters with La Stella second, Freddie Freeman third and Jason Heyward fifth, which is why he didn’t try this sooner. He figures B.J. Upton was the best right-handed option to lead off over Chris Johnson, who lacks speed, and Andrelton Simmons, who lacks experience.
“Simmons, he’s a guy that could be a candidate,” Gonzalez said. “(But) I really like him in the bottom of the order. He’s still learning how to hit a little bit. In this series, B.J. gets on, he can steal you some bases, he’s done that. He leads the team in stolen bases (with 11.) He gives you that dynamic leading off.”
B.J. Upton actually batted leadoff the first few weeks of last season, his first with the Braves year after signing a five-year $75.25 million contract. But he was dropped down after his well-documented struggles at the plate. The last time he batted leadoff was May 6, 2013 in Cincinnati.
Over the course of his career, he’s batted .242 with a .324 on-base percentage in the leadoff spot – a spot in the order he’s batted more than anywhere (747 at-bats) but second (1005 at-bats.)
“I’m used to being there and setting the table, being able to run a lot more,” said B.J. Upton, who thinks it gives Gonzalez a few more options with La Stella batting second. “I think it gives us an opportunity to maybe move the baseball around the infield a little bit more, possibly throwing some hit-and-runs and things like that, just trying to get a little more things going up there. Hopefully I can get on base a lot more and give these guys behind me a chance to drive me in.”
