My colleague Christian advocates for Matt Carpenter as the leadoff hitter for the 2018 edition of the St. Louis Cardinals. I say, not so fast, my friend. I like Dexter Fowler in the one hole very much, and Matt further down in the order.
In fact, I’ll go a step further than even the St. Louis Cardinals, whose manager Mike Matheny has posited on at least one occasion a lineup touting Carpenter batting third. Even that doesn’t get the team where it needs to go, in my opinion.
Where should Carp bat?