The first week of spring training tends to be boring. Position players haven't reported in full force, meaning most of the news trickling out concerns this or that pitcher's bullpen session. Spoiler: Most every pitcher looks good at this point.
Thankfully, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone enriched the discourse Sunday by floating an interesting idea: batting Aaron Judge leadoff against some left-handed pitchers.
Boone said he would “flirt” with Aaron Judge hitting some leadoff. Obvious guy is Hicks but lack of LH bats may move Hicks to middle of lineup.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) February 17, 2019
On the one hand, Judge batting leadoff isn't revolutionary. He's hit second more than any other spot during his brief career, including 108 times last year. On the other, though, we're not too far removed from the days when managers prioritized speed at the top of the order over everything. Back then, it would've been hard to fathom the 6-foot-7 Judge getting leadoff assignments.
That isn't to say the idea is silly. Judge has elite on-base skills, and has reached base more than 42 percent of the time against southpaws in his career. He's a heady, defensible pick. At the same time, it seems Boone is leaning toward batting Aaron Hicks leadoff instead. That might be the optimal call, since it would leverage Judge's power by ensuring he bats with someone on base more frequently.
Still, Judge-at-leadoff is an intriguing wrinkle. That's all you can ask for in mid-February.
