LA Angels Cameron Maybin getting comfortable in lead-off role

When the LA Angels made the trade this winter to acquire Cameron Maybin from the Detroit Tigers I was happy as I knew he had great potential.  My first thought was that Maybin would slide into the lead-off spot, but that didn’t happen.

LA Angels manager Mike Scioscia decided to hit Maybin in the 5th or 6th slot in the batting order instead. My thoughts were that Maybin would be perfect for that role as a lead-off hitter as he had good speed, but also had some pop and his OBP was pretty good as well. I was surprised, but I figured Scioscia knew what he was doing.

Due to circumstances (Yunel Escobar going on the DL) the Angels were in need of someone to fill in the top spot of the line-up while Escobar mended.  So Scioscia decided to insert Maybin in the top spot of the line-up and the results have been nothing short of amazing.

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In two games in the lead-off spot Maybin as gone 8 for 10 (.800) raising his average from .180 on Monday to .231 after Wednesday’s game.  Maybin went 5 for 6 in Tuesday’s extra inning thriller driving in the game-tying run with an RBI double in the bottom of the 11th that tied the game at 6. In all Maybin had three doubles, scoring two runs and driving in two runs.

He followed it up last night with another strong performance going three for four with three runs scored.  In the two games the Angels have scored 19 runs for an average of 9.5 runs per game.  This is a small sample size and will surely drop as more games are played, but it stills raises the question. What should the Angels do moving forward once Yunel Escobar returns from the disabled list?

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In my opinion I think that Maybin should have been the lead-off hitter all along and we should have inserted Escobar in the second slot and move Kole Calhoun to either the 5th or 6th slot.  This makes the line-up stronger and more balanced throughout with Andrelton Simmons dropping to the seventh spot and either Danny Espinosa or Martin Maldonado in the 8th and 9th spot.

Some people may say that the Angels need a left-handed bat higher in the line-up, in which case you could switch Calhoun and Escobar depending on if the other team has a lefty starting pitcher. However, keep Maybin in the number one spot until he shows he cannot do the job.

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Whatever way the Angels decide to go hopefully this recent offensive resurgence will continue.