Who should be the Giants leadoff hitter in 2020?

Giants leadoff candidate: Mike Yastrzemski

Mike Yastrzemski spent a fair amount of time batting leadoff towards the end of his rookie season. In fact, his memorable home run at Fenway Park, echoing the days of his grandfather, came when he was batting leadoff.

So that’s encouraging for those who think batting leadoff could limit the impact of his power.

Yaz is obviously one of the most exciting players the Giants currently have on their team, so batting him leadoff may not be a bad idea if they want to give the offense a spark.

However, with Pillar gone, Yaz will now have to do more of the heavy lifting when it comes to driving in runs, which may lead to him being in the middle of the order more often that not. The Giants simply do not trust their veterans to drive in runs the way they could in their prime.

So expect to see Yaz bat leadoff on occasion next season, especially against right-handed pitchers. But I anticipate him batting in the middle of the order to maximize his power and ability to drive in runs.