*Official* 2014 "sick" lineup thread

[Brent Maguire]

I don't have many concerns about Freese. A .270/.350/.420 type of line seems realistic and I'm assuming his defense will bounce back to be at least decent, not terrible like it was last year. 

[Chuck]

Trout has to steal some bags early on so Albert gets some meaty fastballs.

i think Freese is gonna have a good year. Getting him out of Stl where his baggage was as well as the expectation that he perform like the WS hero will be a good thing.

Yeah, it would be nice to see some more bags stolen by Trout next season.

[Inside Pitch]

1. Calhoun RF (L)  OBP guy

2. Trout CF ®  

3. Pujols 1b ® 

4. Hamilton LF (L)

5. Kendrick 2b ®

6. Freese 3b ®  OBP guy

7. Ibanez (DH) (L)

8. Conger C (S) Ianetta ®  OBP guy

9. Aybar SS (S)

 

I sort of like this lineup.  I like Ianetta's OBP skills at the bottom of the lineup to try to help give Trout baserunners.  Not sure having two swing happy types at 4/5 is a good idea but, Kendrick at 5 would still get on base at a better clip than Trumbo did.  If Ibanez can get on base at a .320 or better clip then the bottom of the order would at the very least stand a good chance at extending innings.

Edited December 23, 2013 by Inside Pitch

[Jim]

You really think Scioscia can limit himself to 82 games maximum where Aybar leads off?

No! It'll be a battle between Aybar, Shuck and Calhoun. As soon as Calhoun's one day hitting streak comes to an end, in comes one of the other two.  

[YouthofToday]

No! It'll be a battle between Aybar, Shuck and Calhoun. As soon as Calhoun's one day hitting streak comes to an end, in comes one of the other two.

Calhoun will go a series with a hit and be removed from the top of the order ... Despite reaching base with 7 walks ...

[Stradling]

I really like the Ianetta/Conger platoon. Good pop from Conger and very good OBP from Ianetta.

[Ohtaniland]

I really like the Ianetta/Conger platoon. Good pop from Conger and very good OBP from Ianetta.

 

I think it's time to give Conger the full time job. Iannetta is and always will be just a back-up catcher. 

[Brent Maguire]

I really like the Ianetta/Conger platoon. Good pop from Conger and very good OBP from Ianetta.

They're a very productive combo. 

 

We should have a top 10 value at the position next year. 

[Ohtaniland]

They're a very productive combo. 

 

We should have a top 10 value at the position next year. 

 

Dipoto overrated Iannetta by giving up what has turned out to be a very good cost controlled young arm in Chatwood. Then he had to stay committed to Iannetta because of that deal so he extended him instead of going after Russell Martin.

Iannetta has been a huge disappointment while Chatwood would've been our #3 pitcher today.  

[Brent Maguire]

Dipoto overrated Iannetta by giving up what has turned out to be a very good cost controlled young arm in Chatwood. Then he had to stay committed to Iannetta because of that deal so he extended him instead of going after Russell Martin.

Iannetta has been a huge disappointment while Chatwood would've been our #3 pitcher today.  

Chatwood is not a #3 arm. He hasn't passed 142 innings in a season and his peripherals still sucked last year. He's a nice back end guy who can generate ground balls and keep the ball in the yard but saying he's a #3 is overrating him. I will admit that having him along with our other young arms would be fun to watch though. 

 

Iannetta hasn't slugged the way some people thought he would but he's still an above average bat which has value in a platoon role. His defense isn't very good but there's nothing wrong with platooning him next year. 

[Ohtaniland]

Chatwood is not a #3 arm. He hasn't passed 142 innings in a season and his peripherals still sucked last year. He's a nice back end guy who can generate ground balls and keep the ball in the yard but saying he's a #3 is overrating him. I will admit that having him along with our other young arms would be fun to watch though.

Iannetta hasn't slugged the way some people thought he would but he's still an above average bat which has value in a platoon role. His defense isn't very good but there's nothing wrong with platooning him next year.

My point was that Chatwood is now a starting pitcher and Iannetta was brought in to be the starting catcher. He's failed miserably so it turned out to be a bad trade. Chatwood is ahead of Skaggs at this point.

[Brent Maguire]

My point was that Chatwood is now a starting pitcher and Iannetta was brought in to be the starting catcher. He's failed miserably so it turned out to be a bad trade. Chatwood is ahead of Skaggs at this point.

Hard to call it a bad trade. Ianneta was worth 2.1 WAR last year, Chatwood was worth 2.0. They're basically similarly value players right now. Chatwood will easily regress next year unless he sees an uptick in K's or a drop in walks. 

 

And Chatwood is ahead because Skaggs hasn't been given a full chance yet. Skaggs was rated the 7th best prospect this time last year for a reason. I'll reserve my judgement on him until we see him getting consistent starts. 

[GregAlso]

My point was that Chatwood is now a starting pitcher and Iannetta was brought in to be the starting catcher. He's failed miserably so it turned out to be a bad trade. Chatwood is ahead of Skaggs at this point.

Failed miserably? In 2013 out of all catchers with 350+PA Iannetta was 9th in wRC+, a comprehensive offensive stat. That's 9th out of 24 catchers! I think your definition of failed miserably needs some adjustment!!

[YouthofToday]

Chatwood had a k/BBrate of 1.61 and an unsustainably low HR% rate. I doubt he would have an ERA below 4.4 in the AL as a SP.

[Ohtaniland]

I was all in for this lineup but Dipoto wasn't.

 

 

[Docwaukee]

Matt shoemaker is better than chatwood. While peripherals don't always correlate to era, chatwood's was pure smoke and mirrors. If we were slotting him for the fifth spot in 2014, people would unhappy and rightly so. He'd be minor league depth at best. 7th or 8th on the depth chart.

Ianetta has value. Not a ton, but easily as much as chatwood. Worst case is we get a similar prospect for chris if things don't go well.

[Troll Daddy]

1. Calhoun

 

2. Freese

 

3. Trout

 

4. Pujols

 

5. Hamilton

 

6. Howie

 

7. Iannetta/Conger

 

8. Ibanez

 

9. Aybar