Aoki Is San Francisco Giants’ Newest Leadoff Man
The San Francisco Giants will have a new look to their batting order this season. Manager Bruce Bochy recently announced that newly acquired, Nori Aoki, will be his lead off guy to start the season. The move essentially puts an end to the Angel Pagan-era at the top of the order.
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While Bochy didn’t indicate how long the trial will be, it seems to be Aoki’s spot for the keeping. When the Giants brought in the former Kansas City Royals outfielder, there was already speculation about how they would fill out their outfield. Aoki’s versatility allows him to man all the outfield positions, which is a bonus for San Francisco. He can perhaps most importantly, play right field during Hunter Pence‘s absence to start off the season.
It is yet to be seen how Aoki will do as the leadoff hitter, but it is a spot in the lineup he is comfortable with.
With the Royals, Aoki served as the leadoff hitter, and didn’t disappoint. Batting in the mid .280’s, he found ways to get on base, clubbing extra base hits and showing some real batting awareness.
In almost 500 at-bats, struck out an eye-poppingly small 49 times. With a small slugging percentage, it is the on-base percentage that may have attracted Bochy to make the switch.
Apr 2, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; Apr 2, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants right fielder Norichika Aoki (23) attempts to make it to first on short hit during first inning in a preseason game against the Oakland Athletics at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sportsat AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports
Among qualified right fielders during the 2014 season, Aoki finished sixth with .349 OBP, which was ahead of big names such as: Nick Markakis, Jay Bruce, Pence, Curtis Granderson, and Ryan Braun.
With Pence’s injury and Pagan’s questionable health, scoring position is vital to how the Giants will succeed in 2015. Their pitching can only take them so far.
In an early preview of the season, at least on paper, the Giants may be one of league’s lowest scoring teams again. After losing the power bats of Pablo Sandoval and Mike Morse to free agency, they added just five home runs this offseason between Casey McGehee and Aoki combined. But Aoki’s ability to get on base is the key. Whether he is walked or gets a base hit, he has the speed and instincts to advance himself into scoring position.
Pagan’s demotion in the lineup doesn’t necessarily a cause for concern, as Bochy wants to regularly use him in the third or fifth spot in the lineup.
Not being known for home runs either, Pagan still has more pop in his bat than Aoki. This should provide the Giants with plenty of RBI opportunities and take some of the pressure off Buster Posey and Brandon Belt.
What has been viewed as a shaky Spring Training so far for the Giants, has fans worried about the upcoming season — and if the odd year curse is back.
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All of this though, begs the question — is Aoki the right move to lead off for the Giants?
There are some positives and negatives for allowing Aoki to lead off.
Starting with the positives:
- Getting on base (via hits and walks)
- Smart base running (steals and stretching the play)
- Outfield versatility (can play left field, center field, and right field)
- Fundamentals (Slap hits and bunting)
Here are the negatives:
- Lacks defensive awareness (plays too shallow or misplays the ball)
- Lacks pop in the bat (only 29 extra base hits in 2014; only one home run)
- Not versatile in the batting order (only can bat lead off or the end of the order)
It seems to be a balance between what Aoki does well and what he lacks. For Giants fans, they need to remember that Bochy knows what he is doing, and trust that he finds a way to make the players on his roster fit. Fans need look no further than Travis Ishikawa, Joe Panik, and Blanco as proof of that.
If Aoki needs to platoon, then Bochy will make him platoon. If he needs to drop in the batting order, Bochy will put him there.
While the Giants only have a small sample size of Aoki’s play to watch, what he has done in Kansas City and Milwaukee should be an indicator that his style of play will translate well into AT&T park. Both Kaufman Stadium and AT&T Park are widely regarded as pitcher’s parks.
There is still a lot of unknown to begin the 2015 season for multiple Giants’ players. Pagan moving down in the lineup shouldn’t hurt the team, but the Giants could be more aggressive on the base paths this year to make up for the lack of power.
By having Aoki, Panik, and Pagan atop the order, that will create a lot of scoring opportunities.
What may be the end of the Pagan days and hard hustle at the top of the lineup, Giants’ fans can breathe with the productivity and patience of the new Giants lead-off man, Aoki.
Three World Series titles in five years. Bruce Bochy and staff know what they are doing.