Who Benefits If Derek Jeter Hits Leadoff?

Yesterday on Fanhouse, Ed Price wrote about the Yankees flip-flopping Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter in the batting order. He mentioned a very compelling reason why this might not be the best move. And another reason why it might be needed.

Statistically speaking, there doesn't seem to be a good reason to drop Damon. He's faster than Jeter (who stole 11 bases in 2008, 18 fewer than Damon) and gets on base more often (.375 to .363).

But according to Baseball Prospectus, Jeter came up 188 times last year with a runner on first and drove in that runner five times -- the 11th worst percentage in the AL.

This switch seems to be a large price to pay for the Yankees to keep Derek Jeter from grounding into double plays.

By switching Jeter and Damon, Girardi can take advantage of what both guys do well and can actually bail Jeter out of hitting into so many double plays - a problem that plagued him (45 times in the last two years, fourth-most in the majors). Jeter has a good on-base percentage and the lefty-swinging Damon, who pulls the ball, could move him over by hitting one through the hole.

More import than making the Yankees a more potent lineup, which this move might do, what does this move do to your fantasy roster if you own Jeter or Johnny Damon?

From a fantasy standpoint, moving Jeter to the the lead-off role hurts three players in the Yankees lineup, while helping none.

1. As Jeter moves up, he's going to have less opportunities to drive in runs (namely Damon). He's also not nearly the base-runner Damon is, so don't expect his stolen base totals to look like Damon's from last season. He will score more, but once again, he doesn't get on base as much as Damon and doesn't run as well, so don't expect triple digit run totals from Jeter.

2. Damon is going to take the biggest hit of the three players on this list. His stolen base total will drop a bit as he won't be given as many "green lights" hitting in front of the heart of the lineup. His runs scored total will drop significantly as well, especially with Alex Rodriguez missing the first few months of the season. Damon will increase his RBI total, but not enough to negate the stolen base loss he'll see.

3. Brett Gardner is most certainly the starting center fielder with this news coming out. Batting Jeter in the leadoff hole splits up two left-handed hitters, but now Gardner will be the poor schlup trying to break up all of those double plays that Jeter hits in to. That's too bad as Gardner's stolen base potential is his greatest fantasy asset.

While this lineup move will arguably benefit the Yankees as they try to survive one of the toughest divisions in baseball without their prized third baseman temporarily, it's definitely bad for all fantasy owners involved with Jeter, Gardner or Damon.