Buxton, Sano & the Batting Order

[mudcat14]

Not to complain about a 4-0 start, but Molitor's batting order has me perplexed.  Clearly Buxton isn't up to batting 3rd at this pont, and he did nothing in the spring to make it appear that he was.  Take the pressure off the kid and bat him 9th until he forces your hand.  On top of that, how do you protect Sano in the line-up with Castro or Polanco?  I don't give a sh*t what Grossman's OB% is, if he is the DH choice over Park & Vargas, he or Kepler have to hit behind Miguel before Sano grows impatient over getting nothing to hit and starts to wildly expand his strike zone again.

 

My biggest hope is that Kennys or Byungho hit their way into the 5-hole from Rochester over the next few weeks, making Robbie into the reserve he is meant to be.  It would also be nice to see Kepler earn the #3-hole and cast Mauer to the depths of the order that he deserves.

 

 

[drjim]

Ask and you shall receive.

[jimbo92107]

 

Not to complain about a 4-0 start, but Molitor's batting order has me perplexed.  Clearly Buxton isn't up to batting 3rd at this pont, and he did nothing in the spring to make it appear that he was.  Take the pressure off the kid and bat him 9th until he forces your hand.  On top of that, how do you protect Sano in the line-up with Castro or Polanco?  I don't give a sh*t what Grossman's OB% is, if he is the DH choice over Park & Vargas, he or Kepler have to hit behind Miguel before Sano grows impatient over getting nothing to hit and starts to wildly expand his strike zone again.

 

My biggest hope is that Kennys or Byungho hit their way into the 5-hole from Rochester over the next few weeks, making Robbie into the reserve he is meant to be.  It would also be nice to see Kepler earn the #3-hole and cast Mauer to the depths of the order that he deserves.

Kepler is looking very good at the plate. His pinpoint balance is back, and his hands look quick. I'm predicting a power show from Kepler over the next couple weeks. When a guy like that starts nailing liners to the fence, he's getting ready to pop a few over. 

[crapforks]

I have enjoyed the shapeshifting batting order. Its fun to try and justify these moves. I agree that Buxton should be moved from the three-hole. I would have liked to see a straight swap of Buxton and Polanco's spot in the order. Some of the lineup stuff is fun to look into. If you must bat Dozier first, your lineup will be more non-traditional. Buxton with a rough start notwithstanding, through that lens, the construction behind to make some sense.

 

1- Dozier- arguably the best hitter in the lineup based on actual MLB success. Some patience, some speed and pretty good power. Leadoff hitter in the first inning, secondary cleanup hitter after that.

 

2- Grossman- has shown discipline and the ability to hit LHP. The 2 spot will probably be the most musical of the chairs in the lineup, but you want someone who will take long ABs in this spot because...

 

3- Buxton- A grand experiment which, if successful, would have lengthened this lineup beyond what we have seen in the last 7 years or so. It has not worked as planned.

 

4- Mauer- Not anyone's idea of a cleanup hitter, but the ideal cleanup hitter is hitting leadoff. Mauer can take long ABs, can get on via walk, can allow a running game to develop for those on in front of him, and can allow the next hitter to see some extra pitches from the on-deck circle. Non-traditional, but I sort of like it.

 

5- Sano- Will benefit from Mauer's PAs. Has crazy power and decent discipline in his own right. Wherever he hits, the batters in front of him should be the OBP guys. Thats not old or new school thinking, thats just smart.

 

6- Castro- Doesn't offer a ton of protection for Sano, but his platoon splits combined with Mauer's might allow Sano to see more PA vs LHP, or be walked more. Castro has to bat somewhere and 6 is as good as any if Sano is clearing the bases in front of him. 6 is the new 9.

 

7- Kepler- Bats 2nd vs RHP, but I used opening day as my example. Kepler is essentially the leadoff guy to Dozier's cleanup-from-leadoff position. He can do everything pretty well (hit for average, power, draw a walk, go deep into counts, hit situationally, etc) but hasn't really done all of them at the same time. His tools are there, and if he gets going, he will be in the middle of the lineup soon enough. In this spot, he is a low-leverage leadoff guy coming up after Castro who is essentially batting 9th from the 6 hole.

 

8- Polanco- In this lineup, Polanco is hitting 2nd from the 8-hole. One could argue that he should be hitting second from the 2-hole. He looks to be a good hitter. There is no obvious flaw in his offensive game, but no standout strength either. He can take a pitch and walk, he has gap power which might develop into HR power, he has shown the ability to hit situationally, and will probably produce above average numbers overall once the season has ended. 

 

9-Rosario- Absolute wild card. Carlos Gomez as a rookie level of selectiveness, but a certain swagger and aura where you feel like he just believes that will bust the game open given the opportunity. His hitting 9th in this lineup might be a trial run to he can be a 3-hole hitter for the Twins someday. Power, speed and fearlessness will be his game.

 

Not sure if any of this makes sense, but baseball is on and I get to sit around and analyze meaningless stuff again. That makes me happy.

[jimbo92107]

Haley's got a lot to like: Works fast, live arm, throws strikes, downward plane. His stuff isn't great, but it plays up because of his style. 

[jimbo92107]

I think that's the third time I've seen Castro toss the ball out of his own hand on the transfer. He did it a few games ago, and twice today. Odd.

[jimbo92107]

Heh heh, everything is proceeding just as I had foreseen...

 

[jimbo92107]

Man, Buxton looks totally overmatched against Gio Gonzalez. Swinging at junk, missing by a foot.

[DocBauer]

I have enjoyed the shapeshifting batting order. Its fun to try and justify these moves. I agree that Buxton should be moved from the three-hole. I would have liked to see a straight swap of Buxton and Polanco's spot in the order. Some of the lineup stuff is fun to look into. If you must bat Dozier first, your lineup will be more non-traditional. Buxton with a rough start notwithstanding, through that lens, the construction behind to make some sense.

 

1- Dozier- arguably the best hitter in the lineup based on actual MLB success. Some patience, some speed and pretty good power. Leadoff hitter in the first inning, secondary cleanup hitter after that.

 

2- Grossman- has shown discipline and the ability to hit LHP. The 2 spot will probably be the most musical of the chairs in the lineup, but you want someone who will take long ABs in this spot because...

 

3- Buxton- A grand experiment which, if successful, would have lengthened this lineup beyond what we have seen in the last 7 years or so. It has not worked as planned.

 

4- Mauer- Not anyone's idea of a cleanup hitter, but the ideal cleanup hitter is hitting leadoff. Mauer can take long ABs, can get on via walk, can allow a running game to develop for those on in front of him, and can allow the next hitter to see some extra pitches from the on-deck circle. Non-traditional, but I sort of like it.

 

5- Sano- Will benefit from Mauer's PAs. Has crazy power and decent discipline in his own right. Wherever he hits, the batters in front of him should be the OBP guys. Thats not old or new school thinking, thats just smart.

 

6- Castro- Doesn't offer a ton of protection for Sano, but his platoon splits combined with Mauer's might allow Sano to see more PA vs LHP, or be walked more. Castro has to bat somewhere and 6 is as good as any if Sano is clearing the bases in front of him. 6 is the new 9.

 

7- Kepler- Bats 2nd vs RHP, but I used opening day as my example. Kepler is essentially the leadoff guy to Dozier's cleanup-from-leadoff position. He can do everything pretty well (hit for average, power, draw a walk, go deep into counts, hit situationally, etc) but hasn't really done all of them at the same time. His tools are there, and if he gets going, he will be in the middle of the lineup soon enough. In this spot, he is a low-leverage leadoff guy coming up after Castro who is essentially batting 9th from the 6 hole.

 

8- Polanco- In this lineup, Polanco is hitting 2nd from the 8-hole. One could argue that he should be hitting second from the 2-hole. He looks to be a good hitter. There is no obvious flaw in his offensive game, but no standout strength either. He can take a pitch and walk, he has gap power which might develop into HR power, he has shown the ability to hit situationally, and will probably produce above average numbers overall once the season has ended.

 

9-Rosario- Absolute wild card. Carlos Gomez as a rookie level of selectiveness, but a certain swagger and aura where you feel like he just believes that will bust the game open given the opportunity. His hitting 9th in this lineup might be a trial run to he can be a 3-hole hitter for the Twins someday. Power, speed and fearlessness will be his game.

 

Not sure if any of this makes sense, but baseball is on and I get to sit around and analyze meaningless stuff again. That makes me happy.

Great post! And you hit it right on the head! Perfect.

 

But in this version of the lineup, is put Polanco 3rd, probably, vs 2nd. He has a lot of experience, milb wise, in that spot, and would be the best fit IMO, until Buxton proves ready. (Unless Kepler takes the spot)