ST: TEX vs TOR May 2nd - 5th

[guvernator]

Considering all the crap Pillar gets, he is still on pace to be a 5+ WAR player again.

[RapsFanInVA]

More games like this please!

[zilby]

Considering all the crap Pillar gets, he is still on pace to be a 5+ WAR player again.

KP's still a good player, but he should never have been hitting leadoff. Ben was perfect for that spot but alas he's not a Jay anymore.

Good bounceback series. Nice game today from Edwin. Keep the mojo going and maybe this team can prove me wrong.

[s e n s i]

teeing off at the derek holland invitational never loses it's luster. on game 5 commemorative t-shirt giveaway day no less!

[The_Hater]

Considering all the crap Pillar gets, he is still on pace to be a 5+ WAR player again.

The crap Pillar was taking was him as a leadoff hitter,, not as a baseball player.

[Natural11]

Considering all the crap Pillar gets, he is still on pace to be a 5+ WAR player again.

KP's still a good player, but he should never have been hitting leadoff. Ben was perfect for that spot but alas he's not a Jay anymore.

Good bounceback series. Nice game today from Edwin. Keep the mojo going and maybe this team can prove me wrong.

Ben was not the perfect lead-off hitter. He takes about as many walks as KP (none) and is a singles only hitter. The perfect lead-off hitter for the Jays is someone with a good eye, who walks consistently (meaning flatter .obp curve) and is just fast enough to score from second on most singles.

Ben and KP are prone to streaks (like many players), and if they aren't hitting they aren't getting on base. 2014 Tulo or perhaps Devon Travis would be ideal lead-off candidates. We have neither of those right now, so going with whoever is hottest between KP and Saunders makes the most sense.

[Skin Blues]

Considering all the crap Pillar gets, he is still on pace to be a 5+ WAR player again.

His WAR is heavily from his defense which is irrelevant to being a leadoff hitter. He's an OK hitter but even last year in his 5 WAR season, he was tied for being our 8th best hitter by wRC+ along with Reyes (both were 7% worse than league average). And a few guys with partial years were better hitters than him too, like Travis, Revere and Valencia. So yeah, he's an OK hitter. But on this team, he should not be getting the most plate appearances. It just makes zero sense.

[LLJ]

Holland will never live down the towel fiasco curse. NEVER.

[The_Hater]

Considering all the crap Pillar gets, he is still on pace to be a 5+ WAR player again.

KP's still a good player, but he should never have been hitting leadoff. Ben was perfect for that spot but alas he's not a Jay anymore.

Good bounceback series. Nice game today from Edwin. Keep the mojo going and maybe this team can prove me wrong.

Ben was not the perfect lead-off hitter. He takes about as many walks as KP (none) and is a singles only hitter. The perfect lead-off hitter for the Jays is someone with a good eye, who walks consistently (meaning flatter .obp curve) and is just fast enough to score from second on most singles.

Ben and KP are prone to streaks (like many players), and if they aren't hitting they aren't getting on base. 2014 Tulo or perhaps Devon Travis would be ideal lead-off candidates. We have neither of those right now, so going with whoever is hottest between KP and Saunders makes the most sense.

Ben wasn't perfect but he still got on base far more often than Pillar. His track record isn't quite as inconsistent/streaky and he's been a better hitter for a longer period of time as well. That made BR an average as a lead off hitter instead of one of the worst in all of MLB as Pillar was/is.