Top 10 lineups: Rangers, Red Sox rank above all others

[NrM]

Angels rank in at number 4 behind the Redsox, A's and Rangers.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/mlb/texas-rangers-lineup-ranks-as-best-in-mlb-heading-into-2014-season?ymd=20140204&content_id=67423452&vkey=news_mlb

 

 

Surprised to see 3 of the top 4 being AL West teams.

Edited February 5, 2014 by Poozy

[fan_since79]

It will be a great divisional fight, and we should be in the thick of it.  I just hope we do better against the Astros.

[mtangelsfan]

Melvin-shuffles lineups=genius.

 

Sosh-shuffles lineups=moron.

[fan_since79]

A 10-year old could tell you that Aybar shouldn't be anywhere near the top of a lineup.

[notherhalo]

Im not sure whats more surprising, that the angels are ranked that high, or that Oakland is #3

[Brent Maguire]

I think the Angels end up better offensively than both Oakland and Texas. 

 

Pecota projections have us at 2nd in MLB in runs behind Boston. 

[DW711]

Neither the A's or Angels should be in the top 5.

[HaloMagic]

Im not sure whats more surprising, that the angels are ranked that high, or that Oakland is #3

Oakland was the third best offense last season by a number of statistics (wOBA, wRC+, fWAR). Besides Donaldson no one really performed over their expectations. And after seeing him all last season I'm sold on Donaldson. He was super steady in his performance. He didn't have peaks and valleys. He seemed like he just finally clicked. They also had several player who vastly underperformed expectations. Their lineup is basically unchanged. The only worry on their part would be if they can perform in the clutch again.

Not surprised the Angels are that high, either. We were only slightly behind the A's last season even with a slumping Hamilton and injured Pujols. I think based on reputation you have to assume Hamilton and Pujols will pick it up for at least one more season. I do think my we lost a little bit of offense, though. So those two things should offset. I'd expect us to be right where we were last season.

[tdawg87]

Neither the A's or Angels should be in the top 5.

 

The Angels have a lot of IF'S but on paper their lineup is easily top 5. I'm puzzled about the A's though.

[sneaky_flute]

I think the A's will be top 5 this year, but you're wrong about the performance of some of their players. Donaldson, Moss, and Crisp had career seasons and it's highly unlikely they're going to fare as well in 2014. And I'm not really sure anyone underperformed. Cespedes' tools are questionable and Reddick is basically a reclamation project with an average bat and decent defense.

[HaloMagic]

Forgot about Crisp. His power was of the charts (for him). But his AVG and BABIP were down which suggest some slight unluckiness. And while his speed was still there he didn't steal. Disagree on Moss. 2012 was much better for him. I guess it's still unexpected that he is performing so well but it wasn't a career season. Melvin really has done a good job with platoons when he has the flexibility. Moss can't hit LHP but slugs RHP. So Melvin limits him to mostly RHP. He only faces LHP when it isn't critical for a good batting performance.

I agree that Cespedes' tools aren't a lock to overshine his lack of polish. But he's shown that they can. So I still say he underperformed. And while I agree that Reddick's bat is only average, I wouldn't call him a reclamation project. He didn't fail in another organization and need a change of scenery. He performed above average in his last season with Boston and was acquired at age 25. He wasn't some 30 year old player who was floundering. But I don't think he underperformed per se. He was just hurt.

Edited February 5, 2014 by HaloMagic

[DW711]

I'm looking at last years offenses and wow...they were bad. There's only two NL teams that have a chance of being good offensively and that's the Cards/Dodgers.

 

Still, the Angels were right up there..even with Pujols and Hamilton doing a lot of nothing.

 

HaloMagic basically said what I was going to about the A's..but like I said before..I hope they have a back up plan for John Jaso being your primary DH.

 

It's Red Sox, Rangers and than pick three of these nine teams as 3-5 (Cardinals, Dodgers, Orioles, A's, Angels, Indians, Yankees, Blue Jays, Tigers).

 

The Rockies? No. The injuries and here's the other reason why: http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/split/34

[DW711]

The dynamic of duo of HamilPu had catastrophic seasons.  

 

I'm betting the Angels offense was actually okay last year anyway, and if HamilPu can play anything approaching decently, I don't think it's crazy to think the team could have a top 5 lineup.  

 

I don't think it is either...even playing fantasy baseball..I didn't expect to see such horrible offenses last year (looking back).

 

I thought the Tigers, Orioles and Dodgers (just to name a few) would have had much better years.

[tdawg87]

The Cardinals don't even really have that great of an offense. Their team OPS was 10th last year and they were 27th in HR. They were just absurdly "good" with RISP, and there is likely no way they repeat that again this year. In fact, their AVG with RISP was the highest of all time. A more reasonable AVG in those situations and they are barely a top 10 offense.

[AngelsLakersFan]

Angels finished 6th in the AL in runs scored last year, with Hamilton sucking and Pujols out most of the year. When you factor in the parks they play in they move to fourth. Add in base running and the field gets a little tighter.

 

The Red Sox were far and away the best offense in the league last year, so I think it's fair to call them the best bet for best offense in 2014. Beyond Boston I think there is no reason to pick any other team above the Angels.

 

Top 5 should be a lock.

[HaloMagic]

Well Hamilton and Pujols could be a reason to pick another team ahead of us. If their poor play continues it won't be long before we have to stop saying "and that's with Hamilton and Pujols sucking." Other teams have shitty players, too. This is the year for them. If they don't adjust properly then the front office needs to get more offense. Reputation can only get you so far.

[Docwaukee]

The Cardinals don't even really have that great of an offense. Their team OPS was 10th last year and they were 27th in HR. They were just absurdly "good" with RISP, and there is likely no way they repeat that again this year. In fact, their AVG with RISP was the highest of all time. A more reasonable AVG in those situations and they are barely a top 10 offense.

cards are my team that ends up the biggest disappointment of 2014.  Matt Carpenter had a WAR of 7 last year.  Come on.  I am guessing it's around 3 this year.  Their young pitching is really good, and was a nice thing to have in a short playoff span, but I think the long season will expose their youth.  They are really good no doubt, but I next year will be a down year for them. 

[arch stanton]

cards are my team that ends up the biggest disappointment of 2014.  Matt Carpenter had a WAR of 7 last year.  Come on.  I am guessing it's around 3 this year.  Their young pitching is really good, and was a nice thing to have in a short playoff span, but I think the long season will expose their youth.  They are really good no doubt, but I next year will be a down year for them. 

I think the Cards will not be thrilled with their decision to trust the season to a keystone of Wong and Peralta. 

[Angelsjunky]

Melvin-shuffles lineups=genius.

 

Sosh-shuffles lineups=moron.

 

What would be the correlating sentence for Scioscia to what they say about Melvin?

 

"Skipper Bob Melvin is a master at taking in the data and maximizing his many platoons."

 

How about this:

 

"Skipper Mike Scioscia goes by his gut and asks, whose got the grit today?"

[floplag]

i'm sorry but I still find the A's puzzling, i cant think of a way to explain it other than the word luck... that cant keep going forever, can it? lol 

[Brent Maguire]

i'm sorry but I still find the A's puzzling, i cant think of a way to explain it other than the word luck... that cant keep going forever, can it? lol 

Of the players who had 100 plate appearances for them, 11 of the 16 were league average hitters or better. Donaldson, Crisp, Moss and Lowrie were much better. 

 

Some of it has been luck, sure. Some of it has been their really smart platooning though. Freiman/Moss was a lethal platoon. Norris killed lefties and Vogt held his own against righties which made a good catching platoon. They just seem to know how to squeeze the best out of each player by putting their players in the best situation. 

[mtangelsfan]

What would be the correlating sentence for Scioscia to what they say about Melvin?

 

"Skipper Bob Melvin is a master at taking in the data and maximizing his many platoons."

 

How about this:

 

"Skipper Mike Scioscia goes by his gut and asks, whose got the grit today?"

Right, Sosh doesn't think matchups or anything like that.  He just closes his eyes and guesses............

[Hubs]

Regarding his Rangers at #1, putting Andrus in as a dynamic 1-4 hitter is about the funniest thing on this entire article. Andrus' contract is the worst contract in baseball. He is so highly overrated it's comical. He is not a good hitter. He is a below average hitter with speed and of course excellent defense. 

 

He makes a ton of money starting after next season (2015-2022), and I think the Rangers believe he'll turn into Reyes overnight, but I don't see it happening.

 

He's not a 6 WAR player, he's a 4 WAR player, and that is a fluke because of his defense. He is not worth two more wins on a season because of his defense. JJ Hardy is a free agent after this year, and had they waited they could've signed him for far less than what they committed to Andrus.

 

Had they not extended him, they could've used Andrus or Profar as bait, instead of Kinsler, to land a guy like Stanton, instead of Choo. Or added David Price. They killed his trade value by tacking on that extension. When they didn't have to do anything. For two more seasons… 

 

$15M a season…is the fifth highest AAV for a SS ever. And Jeter ranks twice so really he's fourth. It's the eighth highest AAV contract given to a player with just 4 years of service...

 

Howard, Votto, Lincecum, Cabrera, Longoria, Verlander, Tulowitski, Hernandez, then Andrus. One of these things is not like the other folks.

[Hubs]

Also.. The Rangers even with Andrus being overrated are not the best offense in the league. 

 

This lineup does not scare me:

 

OF

 

Choo - great season in Cincinnati, but can he repeat it?

 

Martin/Choice - Choice isn't a CF, but he is a solid prospect. Martin is not threatening.

Rios - done well in Texas…still not the hitter he was in Toronto.

 

MINF

 

Andrus- see above.

 

Profar - No one knows what he'll do. Obviously solid prospect, but won't approach Kinsler's offensive numbers.

 

3B

 

Beltre - has been great in Texas.

 

1B/DH

Fielder - not going to be the hitter he was in Milwaukee without Braun hitting behind him. Fielder will improve on 2013, but will not hit to 2012 level.

Moreland - They need a better DH. But good to keep a player like him in lineup with Fielder needing DH time going forward.

 

C

Soto /Arenciba - Soto is okay. Arenciba has power but low average. 

 

Compare that to the Angels 

 

OF - Trout, Calhoun, Hamilton. 

 

Ok so Trout is better than most other teams entire OF's. Still, he clearly beats their CF, Martin, but also likely beats their best OF, Choo. 

Calhoun should produce far greater numbers than Martin does. 

Hamilton should beat Rios in every facet of the offense.

 

And even if you compared them like to like, the Angels get a huge advantage from Trout over Martin, and Calhon will produce 80% of what Choo does.  

 

MINF

Aybar is the better hitter over his career and I expect them to at least be even offensively. 

Kendrick is going to outproduce Profar.

 

3B

Beltre is a better hitter than Freese, but overall, Freese should give you 80% of what Beltre does..

 

1B/DH

Fielder versus Pujols is close. If Pujols comes back to form, this will be even, or even in his favor…if he hits something like 2012, he'll still give you 90% of what Fielder does.

Ibanez is at least the hitter that Moreland is. Will likely outproduce him

 

C

Iannetta/Conger is at least the same as Soto/Arencibia

 

Overall then the Angels will get better offense than the Rangers, based solely on the production of the OF being greatly superior to the Rangers OF. The Rangers have the edge in the corner OF thanks to Beltre, but the Angels aren't too far behind. The Angels edge the Rangers MINF by a strong margin unless Profar goes crazy. C should be even unless Arencibia hits for average. The Rangers will have more HR, but Angels likely overall outproduce them.

 

I'm not saying the Angels have the best offense in the league, I'm saying the Rangers will be lower ranked. 

 

The Red Sox will regress, the A's are stout for sure, but I think the Yankees, Tigers, and Blue Jays will have the best offenses in the AL, whilst the Cardinals, Dodgers, Nationals, and will be the highest ranked NL teams.

 

My list is:

 

Blue Jays

Tigers

Yankees

A's

Angels

Red Sox

Rangers

Dodgers

Nationals

Cardinals

[sneaky_flute]

I know this is an Angels site, but that has to be the most laughably homeristic analysis I've ever seen. I don't necessarily agree with MLB's rankings, but it's not fair to assume that Profar and Martin are going suck while claiming an equally inexperienced Calhoun is going to be awesome. Of course Hamilton's going to rake but Choo's done, right?

 

And come on, man. The Yankees? They're probably the oldest, most injury-prone team in the majors and their infield is horrible.

 

Also, your assessment of Andrus' contract is way off-base.

Edited February 6, 2014 by sneaky_flute