What is our batting order/ Where should Mike Trout hit?

[WeatherWonk]

Ok, I am thinking with the acquisition of Revere, our position players are probably set, I believe Escobar remains, at least till the trading deadline, or unless we have completely fallen off the map before that. 

So how would you construct our lineup and where should Mike Trout hit?

I seem to recall a bit of Sabermetric theory (a general term, admittedly) that stated that, given Trout's stats, he should probably be hitting 2nd or 4th, NOT 3rd. Actually, a guy with his OBP should probably be hitting 1st, but that limits the runs he can produce with his slugging. Or so the theory goes. But a #3 hitter comes up so much with two out and no one on, that his high OBP is wasted in the #3 slot. ALBERT, as the theory goes, IIRC, is the guy that should be hitting 3rd...........or even 5th.

I dont think I've seen a good discussion about lineup construction on this board, but I havent been around very long.

Let's hear it! What's the most advantageous lineup? Maybe construct one with Revere and one with Maybin, if you like.

[ettin]

Trout should be driving in runs not being one so the lead-off thing is not happening because we don't have a slew of high quality hitters to bat behind him, it is really a waste of his talents basically.

To start 2017 I fully expect that the first 3 spots in the lineup will be:

1) Cameron Maybin

2) Yunel Escobar

3) Mike Trout

The remainder behind them will be based on whether we are hitting against LHP or RHP. If Cameron reverts back to his 2014 self then he may fall to the 6th or 7th hole in the lineup and Escobar will take the lead-off spot back.

[WeatherWonk]

And if Maybin reverts to 2014 form, SHOULD Trout move up to #2? SHOULDn't that manufacture more runs than sticking a low OBP guy in front of Trout?

I say SHOULD, because I know what Scioscia WOULD do. He will stay with convention. He will construct the first three as you listed.

We are going to need every run we can get with this pitching staff.

[Oz27]

'The Book' answered this question pretty clearly. Your best hitter should be hitting second.

[AngelsLakersFan]

The only way Trout should bat 3rd is if we can place two considerably above average on base guys ahead of him. 

I could go Escobar / Calhoun / Trout if you could promise me that the two of them will add 25 points to their OBP next year.

[Brent Maguire]

Would like to see him hit 2nd to start the year. Statistics show that your #2 hitter will generally get the best opportunities for run scoring situations. Personally, I would go with this lineup:

Escobar-Trout-Calhoun-Pujols-Cron-Maybin-Simmons-Espinosa-Maldonado

My guess is Scioscia just flip flops Trout and Calhoun so I wouldn't be too upset with that lineup construction. I don't trust Maybin being a 1-2 hitter until he's producing at an above average level a few months into the season. Even if he is producing, it'd be cool having our 1-6 hitters all being above average hitters. Makes up for having a bit of a poor bottom half of the order. 

[Second Base]

What I would do is bat Trout second. We have enough bats (Calhoun, Pujols, Cron, Espinosa, even Maybin) to drive him in. Plus batting him second allows Trout to utilize his speed in getting himself in a position to score. Plus, it's a lot better if pitchers face him with one out rather than two. That way when they pitch around him, we have two batters to make something happen behind him instead of one.

But my gut tells me we'll put Trout third. It'll go Maybin, Escobar, Trout, Pujols, Calhoun, Cron, Espinosa, Perez, Simmons.

We should have a solid lineup this year regardless. Even though Revere is the backup, he'll probably appear in almost every game as a platoon player, backup, pinch hitter, runner and defensive specialist. There are a lot of ways he can come in and factor into the outcome of the game.

[tdawg87]

Pujols

Cron

Maldonado 

Simmons

Escobar

Espinosa

Calhoun

Trout

Maybin

Collect pennants.

 

 

[Troll Daddy]

My 'book' says, you bat Trout third. You all should know by now that Trout/Pujols are joined at the hip for a reason. 

[Stradling]

Here is how I would construct the line up:

Escobar

Trout

Calhoun

Albert

Cron

Simmons

Espinoza

Maldonado

Maybin

 

Which I think is slightly off of what Sosh will do.  I think he will probably swap Trout and Kole.  

[wopphil]

19 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Here is how I would construct the line up:

Escobar

Trout

Calhoun

Albert

Cron

Simmons

Espinoza

Maldonado

Maybin

 

Which I think is slightly off of what Sosh will do.  I think he will probably swap Trout and Kole.  

Funny, I'd do almost the exact same thing, though I'd probably put Maybin 6th or 7th and bump everyone back.

I like the idea of putting Calhoun behind Trout. He is patient and should give Trout more base stealing opportunities (I also wonder if anyone has done analytics on whether a runner is more likely to steal a base with a left handed batting). He also grounds into far fewer double plays than Pujols.

[eligrba]

Trout should hit like a Chicago voter......early and often.

[Troll Daddy]

I think we'll see Calhoun batting 5th/6th next season. 

[arch stanton]

If they had added a significant left handed bat I could see a lineup shuffle but as is I'd expect the top 5 to stay the same with Maybin, Simmons, Espinosa, Maldonado rounding it out. 

[Troutstanding]

Trout should bat 2nd. Whoever the second best batter on the team is should most likely hit fourth. Most likely the player with the highest OBP (aside from Trout) should bat lead off. Pujols should bat third or fifth if he's producing, and lower if he's not. 

[Brent Maguire]

3 hours ago, Troll Daddy said:

I think we'll see Calhoun batting 5th/6th next season. 

If he ends up batting 5th, it might be a good sign. If Maybin is anywhere near his 2016 level(unlikely), then you can plug two OBP threats with Escobar/Maybin in front of Trout. While I want Trout batting 2nd, it'd be hard to pass up putting 2 .350 OBP guys in front of him. Moving Calhoun to 5th and Cron down to 6th would create some nice lineup depth. 

[Angelsjunky]

He should hit 2nd or 4th. He will hit 3rd.

[WeatherWonk]

4 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

He should hit 2nd or 4th. He will hit 3rd.

I'd put Trout at #1 before I dropped him to 4th. You want your best player to at least get up in the first inning. And you certainly dont want a relatively low OBP guy like Albert ahead of him.

 

My order would be the same as wopphil. 

 

[Oz27]

24 minutes ago, WeatherWonk said:

I'd put Trout at #1 before I dropped him to 4th. You want your best player to at least get up in the first inning. And you certainly dont want a relatively low OBP guy like Albert ahead of him.

 

My order would be the same as wopphil. 

 

The studies are pretty clear that the best hitting opportunities come to your second and fourth hitters. But he should hit second to maximize his plate appearances.

[Oz27]

7 hours ago, Troll Daddy said:

My 'book' says, you bat Trout third. You all should know by now that Trout/Pujols are joined at the hip for a reason. 

So you can use RBI totals to give Pujols credit for Trout's success?

[Troll Daddy]

1 hour ago, Oz27 said:

So you can use RBI totals to give Pujols credit for Trout's success?

 

1 hour ago, Oz27 said:

So you can use RBI totals to give Pujols credit for Trout's success?

 

[Troll Daddy]

1 hour ago, Oz27 said:

The studies are pretty clear that the best hitting opportunities come to your second and fourth hitters. But he should hit second to maximize his plate appearances.

As usual you don't have a opinion of your own. 

[WeatherWonk]

2 hours ago, Oz27 said:

The studies are pretty clear that the best hitting opportunities come to your second and fourth hitters. But he should hit second to maximize his plate appearances.

Yeah, I know, but I thought I also read that a #4 hitter gets around 20-30 fewer ABs, over the course of the season, than a leadoff hitter.

 

I'm all for Trout at #2. Just wish the manager understood that. Maybe Eppler can convince him of things that Dipoto never could.

[Oz27]

20 minutes ago, WeatherWonk said:

Yeah, I know, but I thought I also read that a #4 hitter gets around 20-30 fewer ABs, over the course of the season, than a leadoff hitter.

 

I'm all for Trout at #2. Just wish the manager understood that. Maybe Eppler can convince him of things that Dipoto never could.

Haha, not holding my breath for that last bit. I don't get too worked up about the lineup order because it doesn't make that big a difference but it is a bit frustrating when it is as obvious as it is in this case.

[marcosantinia12]

10 hours ago, Stradling said:

Here is how I would construct the line up:

Escobar

Trout

Calhoun

Albert

Cron

Simmons

Espinoza

Maldonado

Maybin

 

Which I think is slightly off of what Sosh will do.  I think he will probably swap Trout and Kole.  

This is exactly the lineup I had in mind. Calhoun definitely should go behind Trout IMO. Also, I like Maybin batting 9th because in reality after the first time around the lineup, the number of a hitter is in the lineup doesn't really matter, just the order. In which case you have hitters behind Trout who can drive him in and you have 2 obp guys infront of him, all while giving Trout lots of AB's.