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Judge was placed atop the order for Friday's Grapefruit League game against Boston by manager Aaron Boone, and Boone may consider keeping him there for the start of the 2018 season, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.
Mike Trout (.442) was the only player in the American League who had a better on-base percentage than Judge (.422) last season, which has given Boone pause when contemplating the alignment of his lineup. For Friday's spring game, Judge will be followed by Giancarlo Stanton, Greg Bird and then Gary Sanchez, with Brett Gardner hitting out of the nine-hole. Judge remarked that "there's all different types of leadoff hitters," going as far as mentioning George Springer of the Astros, who can provide power numbers out of the spot. The outfielder admitted that he hasn't sat atop the order since his high school days, and that he only hit there once, but that he's open to anything. Though this is just an experiment, once Opening Day rolls around it wouldn't be surprising to see Judge batting leadoff every once in a while when the team faces a southpaw.
