Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
May 17, 2007
Leadoff Man

Reggie Willits went two for five last night from the leadoff spot. In 135 career at bats so far he has drawn 24 walks and owns a .421 OBA. Given that he put up fine OBA numbers his entire minor league career, why did it take until age 26 to make him a full time leadoff man? He got on base in college, he got on base at every level of professional ball. At some point, shouldn't a team decide that this kid can play? I'd hate to think they kept him down because he didn't fit the "contact" mold of an Angels hitter.


Posted by David Pinto at 09:31 AM | Players | TrackBack (0)
Comments

Reggie was already 23 when he played his first full season. He hit .285/.374/.365 in the California league - good but nothing special.

Next year in AA he hit .304/.377/.388 - That probably translates to an average OBP in the majors, but far below average power for an outfielder.

Then in AAA he hits .327/.448/.426 - for the first time he looks like a player who is good enough at getting on base to more than compensate for lack of power. He gets a promotion to the majors, next year a spot on the major league roster, and soon enough a starting job. I just don't see any reason to think he had been held back by anything.

He got his opportunities when he played well enough to earn them. The real test is will Reggie still be in the lineup when Garret Anderson, and then Juan Rivera come back.

Posted by: Rally at May 17, 2007 10:14 AM

It's hard to believe that you would sit anybody down for Garret Anderson, who's a triple threat - to his own team. He can't hit, he can't field and he can't run. Right now he's contributing very nicely to the Angels by being hurt. If the team knows what they're doing, they'll keep him hurt all year.

Also, Willits should have gotten a chance with those consistently good OBPs. But I'm not sure the Angels know what OBP is.

Posted by: Casey Abell at May 17, 2007 04:52 PM

Willits got on base four more times last night - three hits and a walk - and scored a couple runs. You're gonna sit this guy down for Garret Anderson?

Posted by: Casey Abell at May 18, 2007 07:58 AM
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