PT TOMORROW: NL East—Heyward back in the leadoff spot
Aug 20 2014
After a stretch where the Braves lost 7 of 9 and 11 of 16, manager Fredi Gonzalez decided to move Jason Heyward (OF, ATL) back into the leadoff spot. If you recall, Heyward opened the season as the team’s leadoff hitter and did a solid job in the role, but was shifted to fifth in the batting order on June 18 as Chris Johnson (3B, ATL) had struggled mightily up until that point. Since then, Johnson’s production has improved significantly while B.J. Upton (OF, ATL) has slashed .220/.282/.327 with 2 HR, 8 RBI, 7 SB and 52 K in 150 AB from the leadoff spot. Upton, incidentally, has been dropped to eighth on the lineup card.
The other lineup tweak is that Gonzalez doesn’t want three consecutive left-handed batters in the order...
Almost!
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