Rotating cast of leadoff hitters make mixed 1st impression atop Pirates lineup

An end-of-year performance review of Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton still is some time away.

One area bound to draw discussion is how Shelton has handled the leadoff spot in the batting order.

As a result of injuries, performance issues and the ever-changing composition of the Pirates roster, Shelton has used 10 players at the No. 1 spot. That’s the second-most in the majors, behind only Minnesota.

Oneil Cruz going down April 9 with an ankle fracture deprived the Pirates of their preferred leadoff hitter.

Since then, Shelton has used a revolving door of replacements with varying results.

Shelton said he weighs numerous considerations when selecting his leadoff hitter.

“There’s a lot of conversation that goes into it,” Shelton said. “There’s a lot of factors. Your factors are matchups, whether it’s head-to-head or how we feel the pitcher is vs. that guy, even if he hasn’t seen him. (The pitcher’s) repertoire goes into it. Some of it has to do with who’s in the lineup that night and the total function of the lineup, knowing that there’s two or three guys in the lineup who are not going to move.

“And then the other thing is the handedness of the pitcher, whether it’s a right-hander or left-hander (and) deciding what we feel is the best matchup to attack the starter.”

As of Thursday, Ke’Bryan Hayes leads the Pirates with 34 games batting leadoff, followed by Andrew McCutchen with 22.

Tucupita Marcano, Jack Suwinski and Josh Palacios have all batted leadoff 12 times, along with Connor Joe (10), Cruz (8), Ji Hwan Bae (7), Alfonso Rivas (2) and Henry Davis (2).

Palacios feels like there is a strategic advantage to batting leadoff.

“You’re definitely going to see what the (starting pitcher’s) got in terms of velo(city),” he said. “You’re going to see a bit more heaters and probably are going to get some more stuff to hit early on. … A pitcher might not want to show everything he’s got early on.”

As for Joe, he believes the significance of a leadoff hitter is overblown.

“Essentially, everyone’s done it at some point in a game when the guy in front of you makes the last out and you’re leading off the next inning,” Joe said. “So, as far as hitting first to start the game, I think the biggest benefit is knowing you have really good hitters behind you.

“… But other than that, as far as hitting leadoff, I think it’s maybe made out to be more than it is.”

McCutchen has noticed a change in how pitchers attack him batting leadoff as opposed to the three hole, where he has spent the majority of the season.

In particular, when McCutchen is hitting atop the order, opposing pitchers view him as less dangerous on the bases, which has translated to fewer balls in the strike zone for him to put good swings on.

“It was a little different being that I was leading off, a guy that wasn’t necessarily going to be a base threat like (Atlanta’s Ronald) Acuna, stealing 50-60 bags,” McCutchen said.

“It was more like, with me at leadoff, the thought process is that you could pitch around me and not feel too much of a threat of me getting to the next bag. With me in the middle of the order, I feel like I see more pitches and have more of an opportunity to hit.”

McCutchen owns a better batting average hitting leadoff (.268) than he does at third in the lineup (.220). He also has drawn 68 walks, which is tied for seventh most in baseball, and his walk rate of 16.4% is third highest in the league.

As Shelton continues to weigh options and results, Pirates fans can expect to see him tinker with the leadoff slot for the remainder of the season.

“I think putting the lineup together in general is a challenging part to the day, because we have so many young players right now and we’re trying to find the best matchups for each one of them,” Shelton said. “So, some of that comes into play and then the other factor that comes into play is how we’re going to attack that certain pitcher.”