Wilkerson leading powerful lineup

02/23/2006
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The prototype leadoff hitter, the experts opine, is a guy with a high on-base percentage who can bunt, run and steal a base. A left-handed hitter, or even a switch-hitter, is good if you can get one.
Those general characteristics are why the Rangers expressed interest in free agent center fielder Kenny Lofton this offseason and work hard trying to acquire Juan Pierre from the Florida Marlins.
Both ended up elsewhere so the Rangers traded second baseman Alfonso Soriano to the Washington Nationals for a three-player package that included outfielder Brad Wilkerson.
The trade raised a few eyebrows because the Rangers didn't get back a front-line starting pitcher who could help them this year -- something many thought imperative in any deal involving Soriano.
But general manager Jon Daniels had more than pitching on his mind this winter.
"It's what [hitting coach] Rudy Jaramillo likes to call the secondary offense," Daniels said. "We can't look for three-run home runs to beat the other team's ace. At times, we need to find other ways to score runs.
"We wanted to provide [manager Buck Showalter] with players who can get on base and score runs -- and Brad is that type of player."
Showalter has yet to anoint Wilkerson as the leadoff hitter, but he seems the likely candidate to lead off on a team that really hasn't had the book definition of one since Tom Goodwin in the 1998-99 division championship years.
"He's a guy who has done it in the past," Showalter said. "There's a lot of different ways to look at it, but it's what helps you produce runs. Obviously on-base percentage is something you look at, but there's a feel you get. What's the feel of the lineup? You see how guys complement each other and the problems you present other managers late in the game."
On-base percentage and ability to work pitchers is what attracts the Rangers to Wilkerson as a leadoff hitter.
Wilkerson had a .351 on-base percentage as a leadoff hitter last season and a .372 on-base percentage for his career in that spot. David Dellucci had a .346 on-base percentage as the Rangers leadoff hitter last year.
Over the past four years combined, Wilkerson's .372 on-base percentage in the leadoff spot is the fifth best among all Major Leaguers with a minimum of 450 plate appearances.
Derek Jeter and Jason Kendall are tied for the lead at .379. Wilkerson is just four points behind third-place Ichiro Suzuki.
He has also seen 4.29 pitches per at-bat over the past four years, the second highest ratio in the Major Leagues.
"I wouldn't say I'm the typical leadoff hitter," Wilkerson. "But I can draw a lot of walks and see a lot of pitches. If the team needs me in that role, I'll do it. I'm not going to steal 25-30-40 bases but I can steal 15-20 picking my spots. But with the guys who are hitting behind me, I may not steal a lot because I don't want to get thrown out."
Wilkerson's career high is 13 stolen bases, but he has also averaged 35 doubles over the past four years. He had a career-high 112 runs scored and 106 walks in 2004 for the Montreal Expos even though his team scored the third-fewest runs in the National League.
"If I scored 112 runs when we were on of the worst offensive teams in the big leagues, I could score 110-135 runs with the guys hitting behind me here -- if I stay healthy and play 155-160 games," Wilkerson said.
Scoring 135 runs is not far-fetched considered what happened at the leadoff spot for the Rangers last year.
Their leadoff hitters combined had a .321 on-base percentage in 2005, the second lowest in the league. But they were still third in the league with 122 runs scored from the top of the lineup.
Since Goodwin left after 1999 season, Rangers leadoff hitters have a .335 combined on-base percentage over the past six seasons, the fourth lowest in the American League. But they still scored the sixth most runs.
They have also stolen just 86 bases over those six seasons, the second lowest in the American League. That's because the emphasis has been on getting on base rather than pure speed.
Finding somebody to do both is difficult.
Since 2000, a player has stolen at least 30 bases in a season 83 times but only 32 of them had an on-base percentage of .360 or better. Bobby Abreu is the only player in the Major Leagues who has 100 walks and at least 30 stolen bases in one season since 2000.
The Rangers are aware of the lack of speed in their organization and have tried to do something about it. Ruddy Yan was claimed off waivers from the Chicago White Sox before last season and he batted .300 with 38 stolen bases playing center field for Double-A Frisco.
Adrian Brown was signed to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Spring Training after stealing a combined 95 bases over the past three seasons at Triple-A.
But right now, with Soriano gone, Gary Matthews is the only player on the current 40-man roster who has stolen as many as 15 bases in a single season.
"That is a potential shortcoming on this club," Daniels said. "It's a focus, something we're looking at, but not at the expense of other abilities we put value on.
That includes on-base percentage and runs scored. If Wilkerson scores 135 runs, his number of stolen bases will be inconsequential.

Source: http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/