The way Jordan Westburg reacted to batting leadoff for the first time in his career Wednesday is perhaps why he’s suited for the job.
“Probably how you’d think he would react,” manager Brandon Hyde said before the game.
Westburg, whose big league career isn’t even a year old, has already built a reputation for his consistency and even-keeled demeanor. His teammates sometimes joke about him not smiling enough — although the infielder has smiled plenty during his breakout season that includes two walk-off hits.
So, in classic Westburg fashion, he didn’t really give a reaction.
“OK,” Hyde recalled as the young infielder’s response.
Instead, he waited to show his manager what he thought in his first career leadoff plate appearance, smacking an opposite-field home run in the Orioles’ 3-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Hyde’s decision to lead off Westburg and the 25-year-old’s success in his first attempt raise the question of whether he should continue serving in that role. Westburg took over leadoff duties from Gunnar Henderson after the 22-year-old phenom led off each of the Orioles’ first 40 games. Henderson instead batted cleanup, a spot he occupied nine times last season.
Hyde, who is often reluctant to talk about lineup configuration, said not to “read too much into” the changes. One reason not to is that the ordering of a lineup matters far less than the players in it.
The main reason the sixth-year skipper offered the change was to avoid an easy pocket of left-handed hitters for the Blue Jays to attack with Colton Cowser and Cedric Mullins in the Nos. 7 and 9 holes, respectively. Hyde said after the game that Henderson would be back in the leadoff spot this weekend against a string of right-handed pitchers from the Seattle Mariners.
That leaves open the possibility that Westburg and Henderson will platoon atop the order similarly to how Austin Hays and Henderson did last season, with Westburg doing so against lefties and Henderson versus righties. But with Henderson’s power potential, perhaps the Orioles should find a way to bat him in the heart of the order rather than spearhead it.
Hyde said there are a “bunch of things” that went into his decision Wednesday, including putting Henderson in the heart of the order to give him more opportunities to drive in runs. Henderson has been one of the Orioles’ best hitters with runners in scoring position with a .949 OPS entering Wednesday, but he’s provided fewer chances when batting leadoff. Twelve of his 27 RBIs are when he drove in himself with a home run — nine of which were solo shots.
Henderson is the Orioles’ best player and has emerged as a legitimate American League Most Valuable Player candidate after winning the AL Rookie of the Year Award last season. Having that type of player leading off is valuable — it gives Henderson the most plate appearances across the season as possible — but it also could diminish his impact on Baltimore’s run-scoring ability compared with hitting in the heart of the order.
Entering Wednesday, the shortstop was hitting .297 with a 1.123 OPS when leading off innings, but those figures drop to .194 and .719 when taking the Orioles’ first plate appearance of a game. He’s hit better versus lefties (1.008 OPS) than against righties (.822 OPS), although a small sample size is likely a factor in those splits.
Hyde’s explanation about not wanting to have Cowser, Mullins and Henderson — three left-handers — batting in the course of four batters makes sense. But there are other ways to fix that than taking Henderson out of the leadoff spot, and a lefty pocket can now be combated by pinch hitting Hays, a right-handed hitter, for Cowser or Mullins. Hyde did so Wednesday for Mullins.
The change could also serve as a shakeup for a lineup that’s spent May slumping. After Wednesday’s walk-off win, the Orioles have averaged only 3.8 runs in 12 games this month after scoring 5.4 per contest in March/April. They’ve hit just .220 with a .284 on-base percentage in May. The club’s pitchers have bailed the hitters out with a 2.31 ERA this month, carrying the club to an 8-4 mark.
One of the few bats that hasn’t gone cold is Westburg’s. After a 2-for-4 afternoon Wednesday, he’s hitting .297 in May with seven extra-base hits. Westburg probably won’t end the season as the Orioles’ best hitter; in fact, he might not end it as one of their four best. But the consistent quality of his plate appearances might be the best on the team. He frequently fights off tough pitches and is among the best two-strike hitters with an impressive .247 average and .751 OPS.
Entering Wednesday, the 2020 No. 30 overall pick was hitting .371 with a .903 OPS when leading off innings. However, he’s hitting .339 with a 1.041 OPS in plate appearances in which he swings at the first pitch, and he’s the Orioles’ best hitter with runners in scoring position with a 1.231 OPS that ranks sixth in MLB among players with at least 30 plate appearances in such situations. He’s hit better versus righties (.920 OPS) than against lefties (.750 OPS), although he hit southpaws better as a rookie in 2023.
“I’m comfortable hitting him wherever,” Hyde said. “I love the at-bats he takes. For me, he really grinds at the plate, and he doesn’t take a pitch off and he stays on the baseball so well. Unbelievably competitive. He’s been wonderful this year.”
The answer to the leadoff question might not have a perfect answer. The Orioles do not have a prototypical leadoff man for the modern game — a good hitter who walks and steals bases.
“Well, high on-base, No. 1,” Hyde said about what he would want in an “ideal” leadoff hitter. “High on-base with some speed, contact, guy that can put the ball in play, guy that can work an at-bat, keeping an at-bat alive. They’re hard to find — the ideal leadoff hitter. We have a bunch of good hitters that can hit leadoff, so if you combine a little bit of everything — a high OPS, high on-base with some speed — that would be ideal.”
Perhaps their closest thing to said player is Mullins, who has led off in 75% of his career starts with the Orioles. But the center fielder was moved down in the order last summer and is slumping with a .183 average this season. Rutschman led the Orioles in on-base percentage each of the past two seasons and led off 41 times last year — second most on the team behind Mullins — but he doesn’t have plus speed and seems locked into the No. 2 hole. Top prospect Jackson Holliday profiles as a leadoff hitter, but his first taste of the big leagues went sour and he’s back in Triple-A.
For now, the club will stick with Henderson atop the order, and maybe Westburg will sub in versus lefties. But it’s likely that Westburg isn’t the last new person to occupy the spot during a long season.
