Dodgers should stick with Chris Taylor as their leadoff man

Although he has cooled off, Chris Taylor is making a strong case to become the Dodgers’ permanent leadoff hitter.

Chris Taylor has arguably been the Dodgers‘ biggest surprise this season. After a scorching start, he has slowed down, but he is still hitting an outstanding .302/.392/.510 with seven home runs and ten doubles across 171 plate appearances. Like on defense where he has moved all over the place, Taylor has shifted up and down the lineup and has hit in all nine slots this season.

He is currently part of a trio, which includes Chase Utley and Logan Forsythe, that has rotated in and out as the leadoff man. Forsythe has usually been the go-to guy, but Taylor has recently started getting some consistent reps atop the lineup.

Because of his injury, Forsythe has seen around 60% of the total at-bats as Taylor but has nearly twice the amount of at-bats as the leadoff hitter. I believe for the time being that should change.

Manager Dave Roberts has a habit of switching up his lineup every game, save for certain hitters like Corey Seager and Justin Turner. Keeping hitters in the same spot is usually the best strategy because it helps players with their rhythm and allows them to stay in one particular mindset. Constantly shuffling is doing too much and can mess with a batter.

Keeping Taylor as leadoff would be best for both him and the team. It would allow for him to stay in one mindset and be comfortable because of consistency, which in turn would aid his performance.

He is also the best option for the Dodgers in that spot. As the leadoff hitter, Taylor is at his best, raking .382/.475/.735 with three of his seven home runs. Compare that to Forsythe’s .226/.347/.323 line in the same spot and you can see a clear discrepancy.

Now don’t count on the power to stay because that’s not the kind of hitter Taylor is, but it’s a bonus. He fits the mold of a potentially good leadoff hitter. He can work the count, make contact, is blessed with tremendous quickness and speed, and ultimately just gets on base.

He does have a strikeout rate that you’d like to see a decrease in, but it drops by almost five percent as the number one hitter. He’s proven to show a better eye and more patience when he knows that he has to be the table-setter.

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For the season he has a good walk rate (similar to Forsythe’s), is better at making contact than Forsythe, and is the bigger base-stealing threat compared to the starting second baseman. Taylor only has four stolen bases, but three of them have come in June. Dave Roberts needs to utilize his speed more. It’s the same speed that allows him to be an on-base threat even without hitting the ball out of the infield. The same gift that can see him become a 25-30+ stolen bases kind of guy if used correctly.

Taylor has shown a surprising amount of power this season, and while I did say not to expect him to be a consistent home run threat, expect him to continue to hit balls into the gaps. He changed his swing this past offseason, which is allowing him to put great swings on pitches, which have led to seven dingers already. But, I think his power will come in the form of in-the-park extra bases. He has shown that ability with ten doubles since being called up and having a guy at the top who can find the gaps is extra valuable.

Logan Forsythe has been slumping since his return from the DL, and having an ineffective bat at the head of the lineup is a terrible idea. He should be allowed to fix what’s wrong towards the bottom of the lineup, where he won’t have as much pressure that is entailed with being the leadoff man.

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Chris Taylor probably won’t finish the season with an OPS over .900, but he won’t need to if he stays at the top of the batting order. The Dodgers have been shuffling around to find the perfect leadoff man since Andrew Toles went down, so, even if he may not be the long-term answer, Chris Taylor deserves the chance to prove that he is the guy.

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