Bautista gives Gaston something to think about

Jose Bautista's role with the Jays this season is definitely in question. But Bautista is hoping to show that it’s not a question of if he will be in the starting lineup everyday, but where exactly he will be.

For much of the 2009 season, Bautista served as a utility player. For any player, coming in off the bench to pinch hit after sitting for over half the game is never an easy task. Not knowing where you’re going to be playing in the field each day when you come to the ballpark can also serve as a point of distraction. But oftentimes, when players are finally given the opportunity to have a consistent spot in the starting lineup, their offensive numbers can improve significantly. This is exactly what happened in September/October of 2009 when Bautista compiled 10 HR and 21 RBI while sporting a .606 SLG percentage, and an OPS of .918. Bautista has started off spring training on a similar note going 5 for 6 at the plate with 1 HR and 4 RBI in 2 games.

Over Bautista’s last 30 games of the 2009 season, he solidified himself as the Jays’ starting right-fielder, but it was only over the last 13 games of the season that Bautista also had the piece of mind of knowing that he was going to be penciled in every day in the leadoff position. Many argue that he is the Jays' de-facto leadoff hitter if speedsters, and more proto-typical leadoff hitters like Joey Gathright or Mike McCoy don't step up. So far, they haven’t given Cito Gaston much reason to entrust them with the responsibility of kick-starting the Blue Jays’ offense.

But do Bautista’s offensive numbers through September/October of last season, and his first 2 games of spring training make him the best fit for the leadoff position? Would he be better suited further down in the lineup? In 2009, Bautista had an above-average walk-rate of .139. However, while he went on his offensive tear during his last 30 games of the season, his walk-rate slowed to a rate of .088, and his OBP, which for the entire season was .349, dropped to a pedestrian .312 during this stretch. Throughout 2009, the only Blue Jay to draw a base-on-balls at a faster clip than Bautista was Lyle Overbay at .148. Earlier today, Mike Wilner suggested on the radio that Overbay may be another choice for the leadoff spot. I would tend to agree with Mr. Wilner with regards to that assessment. (To answer your question, Mr. Wilner, Overbay has never led off a game in the major leagues – so no surprise for you there!)

Early on in spring training many are projecting Bautista to be the leadoff hitter, and Overbay to be hitting fifth in the lineup. Maybe those two positions in the batting order end up getting swapped. It would be wrong to suggest that Bautista is secretly a pure power hitter, but when comparing Bautista and Overbay, it is interesting to note that they have identical 162 game averages for home runs – 17. It’s still very early in the spring, and there are still many questions to be answered before the Blue Jays’ opening day lineup is finalized. The flipside of a potentially sub-par season for the Jays is at the very least, an interesting competition in March for jobs on opening day. The Jays are only three games in, and we can only infer so much from such limited action, but Jose Bautista is certainly making a strong case for himself thus far.