Padres Report: Maybin To Bat Leadoff Wednesday

By Nick Lee | Mar 3, 2015

There have been reports that Cameron Maybin will bat lead-off for the Padres’ first Spring Training game of the year on Wednesday. The lead-off spot has been a hot topic of discussion since the Padres’ flurry of acquisitions have come in. Maybin has been very vocal about wanting the starting job in center field.

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Bud hinted Maybin will start Wed & hit leadoff. Didn't confirm, only b/c of his rule that the player learns it first. @FollowThePadres
— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) March 2, 2015

Part of that argument makes sense, as he is more athletic and faster than Wil Myers. His bat has been the issue. He has underwhelmed since being signed by the Padres in 2011.

His first season with the Padres was his best, hitting .264 with 9 home runs with 24 doubles and 40 stolen bases. He also played in 137 games. He played in 10 more games in 2012 but every offensive number decreased. 2013 was cut very short due to injury and 2014 was also injury plagued, which led to him hitting .235 with one home run.

If he wants to have a prayer at earning the starting spot in center field, he needs to hit extremely well in the spring and out hit Myers. Hitting lead-off on Wednesday is a good start. He actually has 453 plate appearances as a lead-off hitter in the major leagues, with a career average of .228. He has hit the most home runs while batting lead-off than in any other position in the lineup.

Keegan Tatum recently wrote an article about Bud Black’s plans for the leadoff spot. Cameron Maybin was one of the names Black mentioned as a possibility. The majority seem to think Myers will lead off unless Yangervis Solarte beats out Will Middlebrooks for the third base job. Then it would be helpful to have Solarte’s switch hitting bat at the top of the lineup.

The other candidate that has been discussed on here Friars on Base catcher Derek Norris. A catcher hitting lead-off is not something that is done very often at any level of baseball. But you want someone there that can get on base and do it often. Norris had an on-base percentage of .361 last year. That is way better than Maybin’s .290 and even Solarte’s .336. I am sure Black will give each candidate a few chances to bat lead-off and see how things go.

As the tweet mentioned, this isn’t a for sure thing since Buddy likes to let his players know and not find out by some other source. But plan on Maybin batting lead-off when the Padres take the field for the first time as a team against the Mariners at 12:05pm on Wednesday.

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