St. Louis Cardinals: Leadoff options are tricky

1. Kolten Wong

Kolten Wong is an ideal candidate for the leadoff spot when you look at his makeup. Here is a guy who combines speed, power and the ability to move around the bases.

Wong is capable of stealing bases and also hitting the ball clean out of the park, depending on the streak or timing of the at bat. That is the catch with Wong. He is streaky and doesn’t always produce the kind of at bats that are needed to be given at the top of the lineup.

During 215 at bats in 2015, Wong’s on base percentage was only .303 and he hit just .247. That isn’t going to cut it. He stole five bases but more often than not, was too worried about his at bats before or the one coming next. He looked hesitant on the bases.

One of Wong’s overall drawbacks and learning curves in the majors is cleaning up his mental game. He often takes a bad play into the next inning or at bat and since he has the same wiring as every one of us, it carves into his focus and pivots the action that is about to occur.

At the Winter Warmup, Wong was basically writing himself into the lineup card as a leadoff hitter because he also noticed how much of a power threat Carpenter had become and he imagined, like all of us, what that could do in the third spot instead of the top spot. He is a team player and also a kid still trying to figure out his swing.

In Wong I see two types of hitters. A lefty with a sudden death quick swing that can do big damage, as evidence by his pair of double digit seasons. I also see a kid trying to get on base more and find the balance in his swing at the plate. As he makes that transition, I don’t think the leadoff spot is for Wong. Not just yet.

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