SF Giants make major change at the top of the lineup to begin Yankees series

The SF Giants are set to take on the New York Yankees in a three-game series beginning tonight. They will do so with a different lineup than we have seen for most of the year as Mike Yastrzemski will be batting leadoff for the Giants.

Typically, first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. would be the leadoff hitter for the Giants as they face off against a right-handed pitcher in Marcus Stroman. However, Wade has simply not gotten off to a great start this season.

SF Giants shake up lineup going into series against Yankees

In 12 games and 38 at-bats, Wade has slashed .105/.146/.289 with one home run and four runs batted in. Perhaps the most troubling stat is that he has only drawn two walks so far this season. Typically, when Wade is at his best he is getting on base a lot which is why manager Bob Melvin wanted him in the leadoff spot. But if he is not able to get on base with regularity then it is understandable why Melvin would decide to shake things up.

Yastrzemski makes sense as the leadoff hitter because it is a spot in the order he is familiar with. He may not be a prototypical leadoff hitter with a lot of speed and a high batting average, but one cannot deny he is hot at the plate right now. He is slashing .344/.462/.594 with two home runs and six runs batted in. One of those home runs came on Wednesday in the form of a walk-off Splash Hit into McCovey Cove to cap off a great comeback victory for the Giants.

With how the team's offense sputtered in the first two games of the series against Cincinnati, failing to score a run in either game, it definitely seemed like a change was in order. The rest of the lineup looks largely the same for San Francisco with Wade sliding into the No. 6 spot in the batting order. Melvin still has second baseman Tyler Fitzgerald in the lineup despite his slow start to the season, but we will see if that changes soon.

There seemed to be potential for Melvin to plug center fielder Jung Hoo Lee into the leadoff spot given the fact that he is red hot right now. However, Lee has looked really comfortable in the No. 3 spot in the order so it is probably wise for Melvin to keep him in a spot where he is thriving.

We will have to see how this lineup tweak pans out for the Giants. If Yastrzemski's bat can stay hot that could be a big benefit for a Giants lineup that has struggled to get going at times early this season.