speed or .obp?

[nick_sr]

Which one do you prefer for your leadoff hitter? Right now my leadoff guy only has 51 speed but he has an .obp over .380

[Mitchrapp]

Re: speed or .obp?

Which one do you prefer for your leadoff hitter? Right now my leadoff guy only has 51 speed but he has an .obp over .380

For me it depends, is his BA .290 (I'd take the OBP) or does he bat .370 (I'd take the speed).

[caseyj622]

Re: speed or .obp?

Speed kills. Give me speed all day. If he gets on, its basically an automatic leadoff double with no outs and your big boys coming up. Also, makes any sacrafices much easier. If you have a team that is built on pitching and your lineup isn't that potent, those speedy leadoff guys make a huge difference in scrapping across any runs you can get. Single or a walk, Steal 2nd. Bunt him over to 3rd. Sac fly. 1-0. In fact, I set up my team using this strategy. I make sure my 3 hole hitter is a left handed batter so he can pull the ball to right field on either a ground ball or deep fly out to get my leadoff guy home from 3rd after my 2 hole hitter has bunted him over.

[KingFry]

Re: speed or .obp?

Speed kills. Give me speed all day. If he gets on, its basically an automatic leadoff double with no outs and your big boys coming up. Also, makes any sacrafices much easier. If you have a team that is built on pitching and your lineup isn't that potent, those speedy leadoff guys make a huge difference in scrapping across any runs you can get. Single or a walk, Steal 2nd. Bunt him over to 3rd. Sac fly. 1-0. In fact, I set up my team using this strategy. I make sure my 3 hole hitter is a left handed batter so he can pull the ball to right field on either a ground ball or deep fly out to get my leadoff guy home from 3rd after my 2 hole hitter has bunted him over.

This. Revere gets on steal 2nd(sometimes even steal third, in this case I just have J-Roll knock him in), bunt him to third, then Utley comes up and kaboom... an RBI for Utley.

[ShaBoomer]

Re: speed or .obp?

I prefer a player with a good balance of both.

Speed only kills if you get on base. If your lead-off hitter can't draw a walk or get a base hit then his speed is a non-factor. You can't steal 1st.

[canucksss]

Re: speed or .obp?

For me it depends, is his BA .290 (I'd take the OBP) or does he bat .370 (I'd take the speed).

could you explain why? sorry ...new in this game

[Bobhead]

Re: speed or .obp?

Overall, OBP is by far more important than speed.

What good is a speedy leadoff hitter if the only place he's running is in the dugout?

You have to get on base before you can steal a base.

[kehlis]

Re: speed or .obp?

I'll take OBP over speed as well.

Obviously it's ideal to have both if you can but if you just have a speed guy who doesn't get on base it doesn't do any good if he's not getting on base in front of your 3-4-5 guys.

[Chetballard]

Re: speed or .obp?

Speed is my #1 rating for a leadoff hitter,with contact a close second. I need at least one person on my roster with good speed,for stealing and pitch running. I do not think I have ever used a team on MLB show without 1
fast player. If you play me online and i have a fast guy on base, I will steal on you almost every time.

[kehlis]

Re: speed or .obp?

Speed is my #1 rating for a leadoff hitter,with contact a close second. I need at least one person on my roster with good speed,for stealing and pitch running. I do not think I have ever used a team on MLB show without 1
fast player. If you play me online and i have a fast guy on base, I will steal on you almost every time.

But you can do that just the same from the 8 or 9 spot.

[KingFry]

Re: speed or .obp?

If he has speed, you can find ways to get on base a player with speed cant

[cardinalbird5]

Re: speed or .obp?

OBP.

See Matt Carpenter.

He was 3rd in MVP voting last year, led league in runs, and top 5 in OBP.

This year he is only hitting .270, but he still works the count and walks a lot. His OBP is around .370 currently.

I like putting speed guys 9th to have that 2nd lead off, but a guy like Bourjous leading off is not a good idea. He only gets on base around 28-29 pct of the time and doesn't work the count that well.

[kehlis]

Re: speed or .obp?

If he has speed, you can find ways to get on base a player with speed cant

If a guy has a low OBP he's proving that he can't find ways to get on base.

[Mitchrapp]

Re: speed or .obp?

could you explain why? sorry ...new in this game

I was going on the fact his OBP was .380 so if he's hitting .370 then outside of base hits he's not getting on much so I'd go with speed. That was my thinking anyway..though it might not make sense

[Mitchrapp]

Re: speed or .obp?

Imo, speed helps with getting that extra base or scoring from first on a hit. SB, imo, overrated. You have to have a 75% success rate just to break even. So therefore..OBP all day every day.