Why is Taylor Ward Orioles’ leadoff hitter? | MAILBAG

Question: Could you please tell me the rationale behind having Taylor Ward as the leadoff hitter? I just don’t see how a player with a history of high strikeouts and low batting average (below .280 ) makes sense.  His power attributes make more sense to be a 4-6 hitter in my opinion. From: Mark Schnably

Answer: Mark, I received the same question from Mark Cooper. I asked manager Craig Albernaz what qualities he’s looking for in a leadoff hitter last week.

“It all depends. The biggest thing is managing the at-bat,” he said. “Seeing pitches and working the count. The leadoff hitter, you only lead off once. Outside of that, you’re a normal hitter. The only thing that changes is that you’re hitting first in the top of the first or the bottom of the first, and then it’s status quo after that. ‘’It just comes down to what two or three guys you want to get the most plate appearances that game.”

I was a bit surprised that Ward was his choice as a leadoff hitter. I probably would have stuck with Gunnar Henderson, but Ward hasn’t done badly up top.

Question: The worst news of last week was Jordan Westburg going on the 60-day injured list. I don’t know what his retroactive date was, so can you tell me when he’ll be eligible to return? From: John Newell, Annapolis

Answer: John, on March 21^st, the last day of spring training, Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said that he didn’t have a timeline for Westburg.

“This is an IL situation that’s going to go into May even in the best-case scenario,” he said. “Things are going fine so far, but we still have a lot of time ahead of us, but right now we’re not at the point of having a timeline for him.”

Westburg is eligible to return on May 24^th.

Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.