Could fully healthy Lee hit in the heart of Giants’ lineup? originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Bob Melvin has exactly six weeks until he has to hand in his first lineup card, but different variations have been bouncing around the manager’s head for more than two months, ever since the Giants added Willy Adames to the mix. On the second day of camp, Melvin said he’s more and more intrigued by a surprising one.
The Giants hit Jung Hoo Lee in the three-spot a few times early last season, and Melvin immediately started thinking of that possibility after Adames signed in early December. It seems more and more likely that Lee might hit in the heart of the order in his return from a shoulder injury, with LaMonte Wade Jr. at the top of the lineup.
“Wade gets on base, too. Somebody has got to hit third, too, and where we are with lefty-righty, I’m going to talk to (Lee) about the fit in the three-hole,” Melvin said. “I haven’t talked to either (player) much about that yet. I’ve talked a little bit about it publicly, but we’ll see where that lineup goes. Adames kind of fits pretty well in the two-hole right now, (Matt Chapman) fits pretty well in the four-hole right now, and maybe (Heliot) Ramos right behind him.
“You’re splitting those lefties up and (Wade) has maybe got a chance to get on base a little bit more … we’ll see where it goes. It’s not etched in stone here that Jung Hoo is going to lead off.”
As he got up from his morning session with reporters, Melvin smiled and joked that he needed to find Lee to discuss it, but it won’t be too much of an adjustment for either left-handed-hitter if the Giants do in fact stick Lee in the heart of the order. Lee is as easy-going as it gets and doesn’t worry about where he’s hitting, and the Giants believe he was on the verge of showing a more gap-to-gap and powerful approach when he got hurt last year. Wade has hit leadoff more than anywhere else in his Giants career, and has back-to-back years with an on-base percentage above .370.
The Giants would be sacrificing a lot of speed at the top of the lineup but they want to split their lefties up one way or another. This would put Wade, their best OBP guy, right in front of Adames, their best power threat. Lee would have Chapman (who was fourth in the league in doubles last year) and Ramos to knock him in, and also would be relied on to drive in more runs. In his final healthy season in the KBO, he had 113 RBI,…