Kevin Pillar wants to be the Blue Jays leadoff hitter
It's no secret that the Toronto Blue Jays lineup is stacked.
From two through seven, it'll likely be a combinations of Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Russell Martin, Troy Tulowitzki and Michael Saunders.
All of that is ridiculous, but after trading Ben Revere to the Nationals this offseason, they have a glaring hole at leadoff.
Enter Kevin Pillar.
“I definitely can see myself batting leadoff,” Pillar told the Toronto Star. “It’s a role I’ve been in, in the minor leagues...My mindset doesn’t change whether I’m hitting first or eighth or ninth. Wherever they put me in the lineup, my job’s to get on base and score runs, allow the big boys to drive me in.
“But I definitely think I’d make a great leadoff hitter. I had success doing it in the minor leagues.”
Pillar doesn't necessarily seem like the prototypical leadoff hitter (he owns a career .303 on-base percentage), but he says hitting in front of Donaldson will help.
“I promise you, with Josh hitting behind me, if he’s in the two-hole I’ll get some better pitches to hit,” Pillar said. “The walks will come...We always talk about walks, and yeah walks are going to happen. But I’m out there to hit. If I get a good pitch, I’m not going to sit around and try to walk."
For what it's worth, he was an extremely productive leadoff hitter in the minors -- he had a cumulative .364 OBP across four seasons while working his way up.
