Cincinnati Reds: Jonathan India may in due course become the new leadoff prototype.
His .377 on base average is about 20 percent better than the .317 MLB average, right in the sweet spot for the ideal leadoff candidate.
How good is India at reaching second base unassisted? His 29 doubles, two triples, 20 homers and 11 steals mean he does so in about 10.4 percent of his plate appearances. That needs work; it’s only about 10 percent better than the 9.2 percent MLB average.
But India knows how to score. He’s touched home following 15 percent of his plate appearances, a rate that exceeds the ideal of 20 percent above the MLB average, which happens to be about 12.1 percent.
In short, India need only make himself a bit more self-sufficient in reaching scoring position to become that prototype. Since he is young and controllable for several more seasons, there’s every reason to believe that kind of improvement is possible.
Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers are winning the NL Central with free agent pickup Kolten Wong batting leadoff. He’s signed through 2023, so the question is a simple one: How’s he doing batting leadoff?
Wong’s .335 on base average is about five percent better than the MLB average; that’s nice, but hardly compelling. He reaches second base unaided in 12.1 percent of his plate appearances, about 30 percent above average. Wong gets four stars in that category.
He scores about 14 percent of the time, about 20 percent better than the MLB average.
In short, all Wong needs to do is work on upgrading that on base average, something he’s probably capable of doing. Combining 2019 with the short 2020 season, Wong went about .357 during that stretch, a figure that – if replicated – would be on the fringes of acceptability for a leadoff hitter.