Your Ideal MLB line-up

[Failed Bridge 0]

Sportsnation is running a poll here asking what players they would place where in their ideal line-up. I thought it would be a good thing to discuss in even further detail with everybody making their own line-up and explaining why they have who they have where they have them. We'll use the DH in constructing our line-ups and don't worry about defense at the position.

 

1.) RF Ichiro Suzuki - Sure, he isn't what he was 3 years ago but there haven't been many players in the league who are. I take him in the lead-off hole for the pure fact that this is a guy that rarely strikes out and sees a ton of pitches. I also like the fact that he can force the defense into making errors with his speed and often turns what should be an easy groundball out into a double via his speed (beating the throw and then often times stealing second).

 

2.) SS Derek Jeter - I may hate the Yankees but I respect what Jeter brings to the plate. Possibly the best hitter I've ever seen when it comes to inside-outting a pitch. Great ability to go to the opposite field which gives a speedy lead-off man a good shot of going first to third. Jeter also has the ability to steal himself a base when need be.

 

3.) DH David Ortiz - Great power to all fields, very good plate discipline, and always finds a way to come through in the clutch. Nobody else I would want in this spot as I've watched him come through time and time again in it for 3 years now (I realise he's had four seasons in Boston but his first was spent mainly in the 5 hole).

 

4.) 1B Albert Pujols - You could flip a coin between he and Ryan Howard at this point but I'll stick with Pujols. I don't think there's a hitter that any pitcher would rather not see with the bases loaded. An absolute machine when it comes to driving in runs.

 

5.) LF Manny Ramirez - Another OPS monster like Pujols. He's averaged 42 homers and 135 RBI for his career, nuff said.

 

6.) 3B Alex Rodriguez - Although his post season numbers with the Yankees have been nothing special he's still the best hitter at his position. He drops to 6th in my order due to the fact that he just doesn't seem to be able to shrug off pressure as easily as Ortiz, Pujols, and Manny.

 

7.) C Joe Mauer - The 7 hole is about where I think you start to turn over the line-up. How about a catcher who had a .429 OBP last season and is primed to get even better?

 

8.) 2B Chase Utley - If you're going to start turning over the line-up at 7 then you need a 2-hitter for the 8 hole. Chase Utley may not be good enough to dethrone Jeter from the 2-hole but he'll fill in nicely here. In my opinion he's the best second baseman in the league. He gets on base, hits for fairly good power, drives in runs and can steal a base occasionally.

 

9.) CF Grady Sizemore - If this line-up were to bat around then you want a hitter that can not only drive in the couple runners infront of him but who's also fast enough to not impede Ichiro.

 

that's what I got

[Guest Princess Leena]

1) SS Alexander Rodriguez. In this position, Alexander can show off his impeccable OBP capabilities without having to hit 100 HR's to carry his sorry ass team. Along with his blazing speed, his big muscular body, and his ruggish good looks that would terrify the defending 2B/SS while stealing bases.

 

2) 2B Chase Utley. Because Soriano doesn't play 2B anymore. I don't pay attention to Alke's team, so next.

 

3) LF Barroid Bonds. BAM Home Runs.

 

4) 3B Alexander Rodriguez. In this position, Alexander can also drive in runners when Barroid's head blows up, and can start another rally when Barroid is hitting well. Since Alexander is quintessential in both needs, he fits well here. (If we want to be assholes and say Alexander can only play one position, put Cabrera here then.)

 

5) 1B Al Pujols. BAM Home Runs.

 

6) RF Vladimir Guerrero.

 

7) DH Alexander Rodriguez.

 

8) CF Grady Sizemore.

 

9) C Joe Mauer.

[naiwf 0]

I'd go with

 

1. Jose Reyes, SS - In my opinion he's the single most exciting player to watch in MLB because of his speed and baserunning ability. Yes it's nice to watch a towering 450+ foot HR, but a lot of guys can do that so I'll take Jose lining one into the gap in right center at Shea and legging out a standup triple anyday. He's not a slap hitter like Ichiro either, and while this knocks Jeter out of my lineup I think we can get by without him.

 

2. Chase Utley, 2B - The glaring weakness in my own team's infield is 2nd base. Chase seems to be a Met Killer on par with Pat Burrell, except he actually hits well against the rest of the league as well. 309-32-102 w/131 runs scored, and he's only 28. The fact he's a lefty means he'd be an ideal hit and run guy with Reyes on 1st.

 

I'd go with the same 3-4-5-6 as FFMS for largely the same reasons

 

3. Big Papi

4. Pujols

5. Manny

6. A-Rod

 

7. Bobby Abreu, RF - Yes, I've said I think he's lazy before, but I also think he'd fit in well with this line-up since he wouldn't have to be the star and could easily take his 100 walks, score 100 runs, get on base 42 or 43% of the time and knock in 100 just because there's not really an easy out here. When I first decided to swap Ichiro/Jeter for ?/Reyes I was thinking of putting Vladdy in here, but it just seems a bit redundant to have 4 power hitting, slow of foot right handers in a row.

 

8. Joe Mauer, C - I can't really think of any other young good catchers. They might exist, but I'll stick with the guy who has proven he can hit, get on base and should get stronger with age.

 

9. Grady Sizemore, CF - Being left with CF and not needing much in the way of power eliminated guys like Andruw Jones, Beltran and Vernon Wells from the mix. Grady's got just enough power and speed to knock in the bottom 3rd, and start a new rally as well. Since we cut Jeter to make room for Reyes, we'll stick Grady and his ladies at the bottom of the order to ensure we get some merch money from those "diehard" female fans.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

1) SS Jose Reyes - Ideally, you want some OBP at the top of the lineup. but I still prefer to have a little speed. Reyes gets on base at a decent enough clip.

 

2) LF Barry Bonds - Still gets on base better than anyone and sees a ton of pitches. This allows Reyes to think about stealing if he wants.

 

3) 1B Albert Pujols - Not a lot to be said here. Still the most elite hitter in the game.

 

4) DH Travis Hafner - A better power and on-base option than David Ortiz.

 

5) RF Vlad Guerrerro - Batters usually excel in the five hole because pitchers have been exhausted from the top of the lineup. A great place for Vlad to hit.

 

6) CF Carlos Beltran - Still like him a just a hair better than Sizemore, and he should be able to take advantage of cleaning up all the runners left on from the middle of the order.

 

7) 3B Miguel Cabrera - More upside than Alex Rodriguez. He might also respond better to hitting near the bottom of the lineup than A-Rod would.

 

8) 2B Chase Utley - Is really the only option for a 2B. Gets on base well.

 

9) C Joe Mauer - An on base machine at the bottom of the lineup to effectively give a second leadoff hitter after the first time through the order.

 

With the exception of the bottom of the lineup, I tried not to go lefty-lefty to help avoid LOOGY's.

[vivalaultra 0]

1. LF Crawford L

2. CF Beltran S

3. DH Ortiz L

4. 1B Howard L

5. RF Berkman S

6. 2B Cano L

7. 3B Cabrera R

8. C Mauer L

9. SS Reyes S

 

Damn straight.

[Guest]

Since you said not to worry about defense...

 

I'm going to go a little off the board with some of my picks, if only because I want to be different.

 

1. SS Derek Jeter. OBP, OBP, OBP.

 

2. 3B Garrett Atkins. One of the most underrated players in the game, knows how to get on base so that the table can be set for the big guys. 198 hits last year, I think he could do the job in the 2 slot.

 

3. DH Travis Hafner. Guy is a fucking beast, hitting him in front of Vlad would cause a lot of problems for the opposition.

 

4. RF Vlad. No explanation needed.

 

5. 1B Lance Berkman. He's way overlooked, and it would be nice to get a switch hitter in the middle of the order.

 

6. CF Vernon Wells. Nice guy to set the table for the guys that are at the bottom of the order. Slugs at a nice clip.

 

7. C Joe Mauer. You'd be crazy not to take him, even if Josh Willingham's not a particularly bad option.

 

8. 2B Ray Durham. Only 2nd baseman that slugs at a higher rate than him is Bill Hall. I'll take him because his stats are nearly equal with less PA's. Plus, I'm not taking utility players.

 

9. LF Carl Crawford. Hitting in front of Jeter and Atkins on the go-around means that a team could put up a lot of runs.

[the pinjockey 0]

Leadoff - RF Abreu

Combine the four and a half pitchers per AB, with the ridiculous walk rate/obp and he'll score 200 runs in front of all-MLB mashers. Fast enough to steal a bag if needed, but with the lineup following I wouldn't be as worried about what someone could do on the bases as much as just getting on base.

 

2nd - SS Jeter

Pretty much explained in the first post. Add in the OBP and there will be plenty of RBI opportunities for the heart of the order.

 

3rd - 1B Pujols

Switched him with Ortiz as I'd rather have Pujols on base for Ortiz than vice versa

 

4th - DH Ortiz

 

5th - LF Manny

 

6th - CF Beltran

Mix a little speed in with the mashers in case the lineup turns over here. Gets a switch hitter in as well to break up the righties

 

7th - 3B Cabrera

Just like him over ARod at this point. Don't see putting him over 3-4-5 and Beltran was 6 for the reason explained, so Miguel slots in here.

 

8th - C Mauer

Thought about him in the 9 hole for the whole "second leadoff man" idea, but put him 8th just to let Utley get in behind him.

 

9th - 2B Utley

Let's Mauer hit in front of him, to give him some RBI opportunities. Fast enough to not clog the bases for Abreu/Jeter and you know damn sure he'll take the extra base if given.

[Big McLargeHuge 0]

1. CF Beltran

2. 3B ARod

3. LF Bonds

4. 1B Pujols

5. DH Hafner

6. RF Abreu

7. C Mauer

8. SS Tejada

9. 2B Utley

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

1. SS Jose Reyes

2. CF Carlos Beltran

3. 3B Alex Rodriguez

4. 1B Albert Pujols

5. DH Travis Hafner

6. RF Vladimir Guerrero

7. LF Manny Ramirez

8. 2B Chase Utley

9. C Joe Mauer

[Vampiro69 0]

This was a fun little exercise to take part of.

 

1. 2B Alfonso Soriano (I moved him back to his old position of 2nd base + he gets SB's)

2. SS Michael Young (.314 batting avg and 100 RBI's )

3. 3B Miguel Cabrera (so young and already so good)

4. RF Vladimir Guerrero (.382 OBP works for me plus he has power and some SB capabilites)

5. DH Travis Hafner (so scary to face this guy in between Vlad and Morneau)

6. 1B Justin Morneau (finally showing his potential)

7. CF Vernon Wells (needed a center fielder with good all around numbers)

8. LF Jason Bay (flys under the radar and an OBP of over .400)

9. CA Joe Mauer (nicely sets the table for Soriano and Young, plus the bottom of my order has 2 men W/ a .400OBP)

[Brett Favre 0]

SS: Jose Reyes

DH: Derek Jeter

RF: Bobby Abreu

LF: Manny Ramirez

1B: Lance Berkman

3B: Miguel Cabrera

C: Joe Mauer

CF: Carlos Beltran

2B: Robinson Cano

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

For those of you who are choosing Vernon Wells as your CFer, you better hope that you play the majority of your games at the Skydome. Wells has a career road OPS of .778, including a .762 last season during his "breakout year."

[Precious Roy 0]

1 - Ichiro, CF

2 - Derek Jeter, SS

3 - Barry Bonds, LF

4 - Albert Pujols, 1B

5 - David Ortiz, DH

6 - Chipper Jones, 3B

7 - Joe Mauer, C

8 - Vlad Guerrero, RF

9 - Robinson Cano, 2B

[Vampiro69 0]

For those of you who are choosing Vernon Wells as your CFer, you better hope that you play the majority of your games at the Skydome. Wells has a career road OPS of .778, including a .762 last season during his "breakout year."

 

Well, he is my number 7 batter. Not like I am "expecting" great things from that spot.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

For those of you who are choosing Vernon Wells as your CFer, you better hope that you play the majority of your games at the Skydome. Wells has a career road OPS of .778, including a .762 last season during his "breakout year."

 

I'm more interested in finding out the reasons why people didn't pick Utley at second.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

When coming up with my ideal lineup, I try to avoid wall-to-wall power hitters. I think the World Baseball Classic showed the problem with that setup, being that no one is trying to set the table.

 

CF- Ichiro Suzuki. .376 career OBP, 235 steals with an 80% success rate.

SS- Derek Jeter. .388 career OBP, 249 steals with an 80% success rate.

RF- Bobby Abreu. .412 career OBP, career 200/200 player.

1B- Albert Pujols. 1.048 career OPS now 5th highest all time. 49 home runs, 50 strikeouts last season.

DH- Travis Hafner. .611 slugging percentage over the last three seasons.

LF- Jason Bay. .936 career OPS, capable baserunning skills set him apart.

2B- Chase Utley. Again, a player who can not only hit, but steal bases.

C- Joe Mauer. Only American League catcher to win a batting title.

3B- Freddy Sanchez. Career .313 hitter. Pure contact hitter.

 

Yeah, Sanchez over A-Rod is a questionable call. I figure this lineup has enough guys who can drive the ball. What I want for those 4-6 hitters are ducks on the pond, so when the power hitters do their thing they do serious damage.

 

Also, at every point except 8-9 I've managed to alternate lefty/righty.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

For those of you who are choosing Vernon Wells as your CFer, you better hope that you play the majority of your games at the Skydome. Wells has a career road OPS of .778, including a .762 last season during his "breakout year."

 

I'm more interested in finding out the reasons why people didn't pick Utley at second.

 

I was going to say Yankee homers, but I noticed that there were votes for Soriano and Durham as well. Who knows? Those guys aren't even in the same ballpark as Utley, as far as I'm concerned.

[Guest]

To be different. That's the only reason I took Durham.

 

It gets redundant seeing so many almost identical lineups.

[vivalaultra 0]

I picked Cano because, although he had half as many homeruns as Utley, he had a .342 BA compared to Utley's still impressive .309, and, although he only walked 18 times, he struck out 80 less times than Utley. I figured I had enough thump in the lineup, so I went with a contact hitter. I was just disappointed that I couldn't think of a really great left-handed or switch-hitting 3rd baseman to stick in my lineup to preserve my 'All Lefties and Switch-Hitters" motif. And I wasn't about to pick Chipper Jones.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I picked Cano because, although he had half as many homeruns as Utley, he had a .342 BA compared to Utley's still impressive .309, and, although he only walked 18 times, he struck out 80 less times than Utley. I figured I had enough thump in the lineup, so I went with a contact hitter. I was just disappointed that I couldn't think of a really great left-handed or switch-hitting 3rd baseman to stick in my lineup to preserve my 'All Lefties and Switch-Hitters" motif. And I wasn't about to pick Chipper Jones.

 

I can understand the point of being a contrarian, but a 23 year old hitter who draws only 18 walks in an entire season is going to find himself in a lot of trouble in the future. He had an OBP of .365, but batted .342. There's no way he can sustain that unless he learns to take a pitch now and again. He could find himself with an OBP of around .300 if he doesn't keep those batted balls falling for hits.

[Vampiro69 0]

For those of you who are choosing Vernon Wells as your CFer, you better hope that you play the majority of your games at the Skydome. Wells has a career road OPS of .778, including a .762 last season during his "breakout year."

 

I'm more interested in finding out the reasons why people didn't pick Utley at second.

 

I was going to say Yankee homers, but I noticed that there were votes for Soriano and Durham as well. Who knows? Those guys aren't even in the same ballpark as Utley, as far as I'm concerned.

 

Well the reason that I chose Soriano was that I felt like having a man that could get me some stolen bases at the leadoff spot. Plus he has some pop in his bat to drive in my 8 and 9 hitters Bay and Mauer.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Chase Utley has a .362 career OBP compared to .325 for Soriano. Soriano's career slugging percentage is one point higher. 41 steals is nice, but when he's caught 17 times you're just running yourself out of big innings. And while we're not considering defense, Utley has the advantage of actually playing second base in the past year.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Chase Utley has a .362 career OBP compared to .325 for Soriano. Soriano's career slugging percentage is one point higher. 41 steals is nice, but when he's caught 17 times you're just running yourself out of big innings. And while we're not considering defense, Utley has the advantage of actually playing second base in the past year.

 

I'm not sure Soriano has ever "played" second base despite what it said on the scorecard.

[Vampiro69 0]

Chase Utley has a .362 career OBP compared to .325 for Soriano. Soriano's career slugging percentage is one point higher. 41 steals is nice, but when he's caught 17 times you're just running yourself out of big innings. And while we're not considering defense, Utley has the advantage of actually playing second base in the past year.

 

I'm not sure Soriano has ever "played" second base despite what it said on the scorecard.

 

I know he never played 2nd base very well. I just needed a second baseman for my lineup, and he use to play the position. I liked having a guy that could get the stolen bases. I already knew that he had a low OBP but I was willing to sacrificing it for the SB's.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Chase Utley has a .362 career OBP compared to .325 for Soriano. Soriano's career slugging percentage is one point higher. 41 steals is nice, but when he's caught 17 times you're just running yourself out of big innings. And while we're not considering defense, Utley has the advantage of actually playing second base in the past year.

 

I'm not sure Soriano has ever "played" second base despite what it said on the scorecard.

 

I know he never played 2nd base very well. I just needed a second baseman for my lineup, and he use to play the position. I liked having a guy that could get the stolen bases. I already knew that he had a low OBP but I was willing to sacrificing it for the SB's.

 

But as Al pointed out in his post, Soriano is not particularly good at stealing bases. By the way, I'm not trying to pick on you. It's just fun for discussion.

[Vampiro69 0]

Chase Utley has a .362 career OBP compared to .325 for Soriano. Soriano's career slugging percentage is one point higher. 41 steals is nice, but when he's caught 17 times you're just running yourself out of big innings. And while we're not considering defense, Utley has the advantage of actually playing second base in the past year.

 

I'm not sure Soriano has ever "played" second base despite what it said on the scorecard.

 

I know he never played 2nd base very well. I just needed a second baseman for my lineup, and he use to play the position. I liked having a guy that could get the stolen bases. I already knew that he had a low OBP but I was willing to sacrificing it for the SB's.

 

But as Al pointed out in his post, Soriano is not particularly good at stealing bases. By the way, I'm not trying to pick on you. It's just fun for discussion.

 

His conversion rate is not great, but he has enough speed to try and send him. I totally understand the facts you laid out. It is just I liked having him as leadoff with my lineup. To me it seemed that with a couple of innings always going 8-9-1 hitters I wanted to have a chance for a power hitter at the leadoff spot, and with Jason Bay and Joe Mauer as the anchors back their I think this would add some added punch to the offense.

 

1. 2B Alfonso Soriano (I moved him back to his old position of 2nd base + he gets SB's)

2. SS Michael Young (.314 batting avg and 100 RBI's )

3. 3B Miguel Cabrera (so young and already so good)

4. RF Vladimir Guerrero (.382 OBP works for me plus he has power and some SB capabilites)

5. DH Travis Hafner (so scary to face this guy in between Vlad and Morneau)

6. 1B Justin Morneau (finally showing his potential)

7. CF Vernon Wells (needed a center fielder with good all around numbers)

8. LF Jason Bay (flys under the radar and an OBP of over .400)

9. CA Joe Mauer (nicely sets the table for Soriano and Young, plus the bottom of my order has 2 men W/ a .400OBP)

[vivalaultra 0]

Continuing with the Soriano/Utley debate, I find it interesting that number one on Utley's comprable batters through age 27 is Alfonso Soriano. In Utley's age 27 season, he went .309/.379/.527 and Soriano went .290/.338/.525 in his. Soriano hit 6 more HRs but had 11 less RBI and walked 30 less times and struck out 2 less times and was 35 for 43 in steals comapred to Utley's 15 for 19. What does this tell us? Nothing! However, I'm still comfortable with my pick of Cano, especially batting between Berkman and Cabrera.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I don't think Soriano should even be eligible at second base considering he doesn't even play there anymore.

[Vampiro69 0]

I don't think Soriano should even be eligible at second base considering he doesn't even play there anymore.

 

Am I being forced to change my pick of Soriano then?

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I don't think Soriano should even be eligible at second base considering he doesn't even play there anymore.

 

Am I being forced to change my pick of Soriano then?

 

No. I'm simply voicing my opinion.