Who leads off for Nationals, Turner or Eaton?

This time last year, the Nationals had just acquired outfielder Ben Revere in a trade with the Blue Jays and he was already slotted as their leadoff hitter. The Nats were hoping to take advantage of his speed to add another dimension to a lineup lacking fleet-footedness, and fans and prognosticators buried themselves in predictions of how many bases he might steal and how many runs he could score with potent bats following him.

But Revere didn't get through his first regular season game with the Nats before injuring himself, and a slow-healing oblique strain bothered him all season. His .217/.260/.300 was his worst as a semi-regular in the majors, he scored 44 runs and swiped 14 bases. Trea Turner's emergence, whether by happenstance or necessity, relegated Revere to reserve status for much of the second half and he was left off the Nats' National League Division Series roster before being non-tendered in November.

Fast-forward to today and there's a more intense discussion about who will lead off for the Nationals. Most teams would be happy to have one bona fide guy atop the batting order; the Nats have two from which to choose, incumbent Turner, who will move from center field back to shortstop next season, and Adam Eaton, who was acquired from the White Sox at the Winter Meetings.

Manager Dusty Baker has no doubt been playing with potential lineups for the past couple of months, and whatever he writes down on his imaginary card will likely have either Turner or Eaton in the one-hole.

But who's the better fit?

That's not a question with an easy answer.

Turner, 23, was a rookie revelation last season, the shot in the arm the Nationals needed at exactly the right time. He slashed .342/.370/.567, stealing 33 bases and scoring 53 runs in 73 games - basically half a season. Turner flashed some surprising pop, with 13 homers and 40 RBIs, but that's not his game. The Nationals want him to continue to be a presence at or near the top of the lineup, and any power they get from the speedster will be a nice bonus.

Though his 100 career games are an admittedly small sample size - but perhaps large enough to draw some conclusions - the majority of his big league at-bats have come in the first spot in the order. In 67 games leading off, he's slashed .340/.365/.562 with 52 runs and 32 steals. There's little to compare his leadoff success to, for Turner has only eight games out of the two-hole (.364/.440/.545) and 13 games as a No. 9 hitter (.250/.308/.333). All but one of those games in the No. 2 position and 10 of the appearances in the nine-hole came in 2015.

The majority of Eaton's career has been spent out of the leadoff spot, where he's logged 448 games with a .285/.359/.416 slash line, including 283 runs and only 45 steals. Eaton's 50 games as a No. 2 hitter have yielded similar statistics: He's slashed .287/.350/.416 with 34 runs and nine swipes.

Both Turner and Eaton said at Nats Winterfest that they didn't care where they hit, and both seem to delight at the prospect of terrorizing opposing teams on the basepaths. Baker has been mum on the subject, saying it creates an interesting dilemma, but doesn't seem to be the kind of skipper who works hard to fix what isn't broke. And that, to me, gives an edge to Turner.

But if Turner, a right-handed hitter, bats leadoff and Eaton, who swings from the left side, slots behind him, that could create three consecutive left-handed hitters, assuming second baseman Daniel Murphy and right fielder Bryce Harper follow in the No. 3 and No. 4 spots, respectively. And that makes it very easy for opposing managers to use a matchup lefty for multiple hitters - perhaps a whole inning - late in a game. Which could put Baker and the Nats at a disadvantage.

Dropping Eaton down in the order and popping someone else - righty swingers third baseman Anthony Rendon or left fielder Jayson Werth, perhaps? - puts Eaton in unfamiliar territory. His game is contact and savvy baserunning, not knocking in runs. And with a new player, teams try to do what they can to play to his strengths.

Over his career, Eaton has hit left- (.285 in 277 games) and right-handed pitchers (.284 in 471 games) equally well. But most of his damage has come against righties, against whom he's slashed .284/.356/.436 with 260 runs scored and 45 steals. So while he doesn't possess Turner's blazing speed, Eaton has shown a knack for getting on base and finding a way home. He's certainly not a classic leadoff hitter, but the Nationals could do a lot worse.

Turner's career splits show a similar pattern, albeit in significantly fewer games. In 85 games against right-handed pitching, Turner has a .330/.364/.572 line with 44 runs and 29 steals. In 36 games versus southpaws, he's produced a .324/.351/.408 slash with 14 runs and six steals. His speed screams out that Turner belongs in the leadoff spot, but could he flourish as a No. 2 hitter, and could he and Eaton be the kind of pesky tandem that both frustrates pitchers with their feet and buys the power hitters down the order a steady diet of fastballs?

Or does Baker go with a really out-of-the-box idea and mix and match Turner and Eaton in the first two spots in the order depending on the opposing pitcher and catcher? When the foe's bullpen has only one left-hander - as a few do early in the season or with second-division clubs unwilling to pay a premium price for an important role player - the three straight left-handed hitters could be less of a concern.

Regardless of who Baker chooses to lead off, it's a good bet both Turner and Eaton are stacked atop the order, where their on-base capabilities can be maximized to ignite big innings.