What should the batting order be?

[HaloFan85]

If Trout doesn't mind fewer RBI opportunities, I'd say Trout-Calhoun is the best 1-2 choice.  If not, then Calhoun-Trout would be just as good.

[Brent Maguire]

Another option could be:

Calhoun

Freese

Trout

Pujols

Hamilton

Freese has a very solid career OBP. This gets 2 high OBP guys in front of your 3 best hitters.

[70runner]

Best hitter hits third, except when Scioscia is running things with old guys on the roster. 

 

Give Trout the opportunity to drive in 1-2 guys early before the old, wealthy guys come up. 

 

My prediction: stick a fork in Pujols, he's a ho hum .250 hitter, nothing more.  It will take Scioscia half the season to figure this out.

[HaloFan85]

Freese shouldn't be anywhere near the top of the order with his 2 bad knees.

 

Trout will eventually become the #3 by 2015 or 2016 at the latest.

[Brent Maguire]

Freese shouldn't be anywhere near the top of the order with his 2 bad knees.

Trout will eventually become the #3 by 2015 or 2016 at the latest.

If he's posting a .360 OBP, I could care less if his knees are bad.

Plus, you're looking at Kendrick or Aybar batting 2nd if Trout ends up batting 3rd.

Howie's numbers have been far superior in a lower spot in the order and Aybar just isn't a good hitter to have at the top of the lineup.

[Punk]

Calhoun

Trout

Pujols

[HaloMagic]

Trout

Trout

Trout

Problem solved. Tank - I need you to make this line up a priority during your next lunch with Dipoto.

[VariousCrap]

The Correct Answer:

 

Calhoun leads off, Trout hits second, Pujols third

[VariousCrap]

Terry Smith mentioned on Angel talk that Aybar is being considered at lead off ... If not Ayvar then Shuck.

True story

 

 

[barshels]

Trout leads off. He is the best hitter and will get more ABs over the season if he leads off. Fine with anybody second except Aybar and Kendrick.

[Hubs]

I did say to ignore Trout being an option hitting third in this lineup, because I do not believe it is a viable option for 2014, maybe in 2015 or 2016, but not in 2014. Pujols or Hamilton is your #3 batter for the majority of this season. That will only change if they have viable experienced options in the leadoff spot and #2 spot, which they do not have right now. I said in the OP, that Calhoun has nearly zero experience as the leadoff guy, whilst Trout has most of his experience there. Calhoun has usually been the best hitter on the team, and usually hits 2nd or 3rd in the minors. 

 

I will say that the last season the Angels had a leadoff hitter hit for power, the Angels scored 864 runs. Granted that was a different era, but to say that the Angels are wasting Trout's power in the leadoff spot is not true. This was in 2000 when Erstad had an OPS+ of 137, hit .355 with 25 HR. Yes it was the steroid ERA and teams scored more runs, I understand that, that's why I use OPS+.  Our #2 hitters combined for a OPS+ of 94 from that spot, but there wasn't a set person in that spot. Our #3 hitter, Mo Vaughn, hit .272 with an OPS plus of 115. Tim Salmon hit 4th with an OPS+ of 135 and Garrett Anderson followed hitting to an OPS+ of 103. Glaus hit mostly 6th that year and had the best stats on the team.

 

I bring this up for comparison purposes only, but Trout had an OPS+ last year of 179. In 2012, it was 168.

 

I'd expect him to do this again, but even at a slight regression he'd still be awesome. Calhoun's Major League OPS+ last year was 128. Significantly better than the performance of our #2 batter in 2000. Pujols had an OPS+ of 138 in 2012, and was down last year primarily due to his foot injury. Hamilton has no excuse, but in the second half, he hit to an OPS+ of 125. 

 

My point with all these numbers is to say that the Angels are well positioned to have success from the 1-9 batters in their lineup. Even their worst regular batter, Aybar, isn't a bad hitter by any means, and should carry OPS+ above 90, and could have a good year above 105. Only a few SS each year will outperform that number.

 

Here's the projected lineup with OPS+ from 2013, plus also their best single season mark from the last three years.

 

Trout +179 (best)

Calhoun +128 (best)

Pujols +116 (+148 in 2011)

Hamilton +108 (+130 in 2011)

Freese +101 (+129 in 2012)

Ibanez +128 (best)

Kendrick + 118 (+126 in 2011)

Iannetta +109 (best)

Aybar +93 (+110 in 2011)

[Hubs]

If Trout were to hit third, it pushes the 2nd and 3rd best hitters in your lineup to 4 and 5. Which isn't a bad thing except the way the team is currently made up, the options to hit 1 and 2 then are limited.

Calhoun would presumably be one of the two, but then you'd want a righty as the other... Kendrick and Iannetta then are options, but they aren't known for hitting higher up in the order. Freese probably would be the best candidate, but he's a #2 guy only, not a #1 guy. Plus he isn't the fastest player on the Angels by a long shot and would clog up the bases for Trout. Trout's a great hitter, yet his speed is certainly an asset and you don't want to take that away. Aybar likely is the guy, but then you have a guy with a .320's OBP hitting in the top of your lineup. Not really a good asset for that spot.

I also like the order above because it goes R-L-R-L-R-L-R-R-S..

And as far as bench bats, when players other than the 9 above get starts, if the Angels are relatively healthy the two main bench starters will likely be Conger and Grant Green, then to a lesser extent Shuck. Guys like Tracy, Pena, Romine, Jimenez, Cowgill, Boesch, etc. will not be major contributors.

All of the bench players will likely total less than 500 PA's. The rest of the team should be nearing 6000. It's on the regulars to produce.

Edited February 11, 2014 by Hubs

[WallyWorld]

You pay $375 million for two of the supposedly best hitters in the game, only to have your 22 year old minimum wage kid hit 3rd?  Not to mention taking Trout out of the top of the lineup takes away one of his best skills, which will start to fade down the line but is at its height now.

[Mark68]

None of the above.

 

I don't think Pujols should be hitting third.

 

I know he will, he just shouldn't be.

 

I'd be fine with Calhoun/Aybar/Trout/Pujols/Hamilton/Freese/Ibanez/Kendrick/Catcher.

 

Calhoun is the closest (as in, the least NOT close) to a good leadoff hitter that the Angels have.

Aybar doesn't strike out, and 2nd would be a good spot for his bunt-happy ways.

Trout is the Best Player In Baseball. Period.

Pujols is more power than bat-handler now.

Then L/R/L/R for the next four spots.

[Angel Oracle]

How can Aybar hitting in the first two spots ever be a good option? 

Only once has his seasonal OBP exceeded .324, and that was when hitting .312 in 2009 (.353 OBP).

Edited February 11, 2014 by Angel Oracle

[Angel Oracle]

Terry Smith mentioned on Angel talk that Aybar is being considered at lead off ... If not Ayvar then Shuck.

True story

WTF is Scioscia's love affair with Shuck all about? 

And why the Scioscia love for Aybar at/near the top of the order?

Scioscia is fast going the Leonard Tose route.

[Llewyn Davis]

Shuck's OBP in the minors was .382. He's capable of drawing more walks. If he could get it up to around .350, that would be plenty useful from the top of the order. I'm thinking David DeJesus when he was good with the Royals, only with less pop. It sort of depends on how Scioscia wants to use Ibanez, though. If Ibanez plays the majority of the time (and all signs point to that happening), Shuck will be relegated to the bench.

 

If Borenstein and/or Cron come up mid-season and pan out, the lineup will benefit quite a bit. Shuck doesn't hit for any kind of power. Ibanez doesn't hit for average or get on base. They each have glaring holes in their game and are somewhat one-dimensional. Borenstein and Cron aren't perfect, but they each have considerably more upside than Shuck and Ibanez.

 

I'd also be curious to see where Lindsey will bat when/if Kendrick is traded. I could see him and Calhoun 1 and 2 in the order for many years to come, allowing the Angels to bat Trout 3rd with a clear conscience and compensate for the rapid decline of Pujols and Hamilton.

Edited February 11, 2014 by Llewyn Davis

[monkeywithahalo]

1) not Aybar

2) not Aybar

3) not Aybar

4) not Aybar

5) not Aybar

6) not Aybar

7) not Aybar

8) not Aybar

9) Aybar

+100

[Mark68]

How can Aybar hitting in the first two spots ever be a good option? 

Only once has his seasonal OBP exceeded .324, and that was when hitting .312 in 2009 (.353 OBP).

With Aybar, it wouldn't be about the OBP. It would be about showing bunt on the first pitch and maybe actually getting it down to A) Advance the runner, and 2) Maybe actually get on himself. He rarely grounds into double plays (14 in '13 in 550 AB) and rarely strikes out.

 

With Calhoun leading off and Aybar behind him, it's likely that if Calhoun gets on base, he'll still be there for Trout & Pujols.

 

I'm not saying he's the perfect number two hitter (that would be Calhoun). He's just the best one we have if Calhoun leads off. It actually makes sense if you think about it.

[Richard]

Terry Smith mentioned on Angel talk that Aybar is being considered at lead off ... If not Ayvar then Shuck.

True story

 

 

 

Same old shit.

Edited February 12, 2014 by Richard

[arch stanton]

I realize my mind doesn't always work like other people's but if Trout is going to be 50-70 points higher than anyone else in OBP  and 20 steals ahead then how do you justify someone else leading off?

[Angel Oracle]

Best lineup:

Trout CF

Calhoun RF (solid OBP, allowing Trout SB opps)

Pujols 1B

Hamilton LF

Kendrick 2B (switching with Freese, see Freese)

Ibanez DH

Freese 3B (until hitting like he did in 11-12)

Confer/Iannetta C

Aybar SS

Edited February 12, 2014 by Angel Oracle

[Jim]

If Pujols and Hamilton were what they were 2-5 years ago, you could get away with batting Trout leadoff.

 

But the reality is they're not what they were. And the team is best served by having its best hitter bat 3rd in a position to drive in runs, not two has-beens who are still above average but no longer anything special.

I agree with this statement. With that said I would start the season with the idea that Albert and Hamilton are the players we think they will be. After a month or so it becomes clear their problems are continuing, then I would be inclined to either bat Trout lead off in an effort to spark the anemic lineup, or 3rd, assuming we have a couple of players hitting well enough to be table setters.

 

If we don't have a legit lead off man by seasons start, then I say we go with Trout. It worked quite well before.  

[Jim]

Freese shouldn't be anywhere near the top of the order with his 2 bad knees.

 

Trout will eventually become the #3 by 2015 or 2016 at the latest.

Agreed, no Freese at the top of the line up. Also, I'm fairly sure the Yankees would bat him third. 

[Jim]

Trout +179 (best)

Calhoun +128 (best)

Pujols +116 (+148 in 2011)

Hamilton +108 (+130 in 2011)

Freese +101 (+129 in 2012)

Ibanez +128 (best)

Kendrick + 118 (+126 in 2011)

Iannetta +109 (best)

Aybar +93 (+110 in 2011)

I would switch Kendrick and Ibanez. Other than that and assuming everyone hits to their potential, this is pretty potent line up.