The Toronto Blue Jays had a lot of success last season as they made the playoffs for the first time in 22 years. A lot of Toronto's success last year could be attributed to its potent offense, as they had the capability to outscore any team on any given night.
This season Toronto returns the majority of that offense, but the Blue Jays have gotten off to a bit of a slow start offensively. Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion are the headliners of the lineup, but the missing piece comes at the top of the order. Ben Revere was the Blue Jays' leadoff hitter for the latter part of the season and had a .354 on-base percentage, but he is now gone, and the Blue Jays haven't found a replacement just yet.
To start the year manager John Gibbons went with Kevin Pillar as his leadoff hitter. Pillar had a very nice year for the Blue Jays a season ago but did it from the eighth spot in the lineup. At the top of the order this year he was hitting just .188 and not getting on base nearly enough. On Sunday Gibbons decided to make a change by putting leftfielder Michael Saunders in the leadoff spot, and he will continue putting him in that spot going forward.
This move should prove helpful for both players and the team as a whole. Saunders, who went 1-5 in his first game as the leadoff hitter, boasts a .325 on-base percentage which makes him better suited to be at the top of the order. With Saunders likely getting on base more often it will give the middle of the lineup, which is one of the best in baseball, more opportunities to drive in runs.
This move should also help Pillar. Pillar had a very good offensive year last season batting from the eighth spot and struggled in the leadoff position at the beginning of this year. In his first game back in the eighth spot on Sunday, Pillar went 3-4, so it seems like the stud centerfielder is just more comfortable at the bottom of the lineup for whatever reason.
With all of the great hitters the Blue Jays have it should be expected that they return to last year's form, or at least somewhat close. The power bats get the most publicity because they hit the home runs, but the leadoff position may be the most important spot because there is a big difference between solo home runs and home runs with men on base. Saunders is next up as the table setter, and Gibbons plans to "ride it out" with that lineup configuration.
