What are the soul duties of the #5 hitter in a line up. Does he need shear base speed, Is his job mainly to power hit to outfields to drive in RBI's.
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Good Power, RBI Guy, Can do a little bit of everything. Speed probally is not on the high priority though but would help of course.
I agree with coach here. Speed is not a priority here. Good fly ball power and gap power are pluses. If he can bring a guy in from 3rd with less than 2 out, he can be very productive. Man on 2nd with any number of outs, you'd like gap power. He's probably my second or third best power behind my 4 and 3 hitters. In an ideal world, my leadoff gets on, my 2 moves him into scoring position, my 3 knocks him in, my 4 moves the 3 over to third or scores him, my 5 knocks in who's left on base.
I think the number 5 guy should have some speed if the 3 and 4 clog the bases.
I think #5 hitter should be a guy who can not only drive in runs but get on base himself.
why would you look for a guy with speed if, like you say, 3 and 4 are clogging the bases? Generally, we put our 4th or 5th best hitter in that spot.
