The 2017 series on team offense continues with the Texas Rangers. The Rangers finished fourth in the American League and seventh in the majors in 2016 with 4.72 runs scored per game.
I am using RotoChamp as a source of default lineups. That Jeff Banister order is plugged into the Lineup Analysis Tool (LAT) using Musings Marcels as the batter projections. That information produces the following results (Runs per game):
Best lineup: 4.95
Probable lineup: 4.83
Worst lineup: 4.73
Regressed lineup: 4.46
The Rangers starting nine posts the smallest spread so far between the best and worst possible lineups, 0.22 runs per game. That makes it very difficult to put a poor lineup on the field. Yet, this order winds up closer to the worst than the best due to the presence of Carlos Gomez in the lead-off slot.
In a small sample size with the Rangers last season, Gomez posted a .356 OBP. If the Rangers induced a change in Gomez to increase his OBP, then by all means they should bat him at the top of the order. Gomez has been erratic in that statistic throughout his career, however. Through his age 26 season, 2012, he posted a .294 mark. Since then, he stands at .330, with a Marcels projection for 2017 of .321. He improved something, but compared to other players on the team, he might not be the best choice at the top of the order.
Note that the LAT would take two through six hitters and move them each up a slot. So the Rangers get the larger grouping right. They will put a lot of batters on base no matter the order, so expect this team to score lots of runs. If Gomez plays well, they should blow by the best lineup prediction with this order.
You can follow the data for the series in this Google spreadsheet.
Help support this series and the LAT by donating to the Baseball Musings Pledge Drive.
Previous posts in this series:
- Introduction
- Boston Red Sox
- Colorado Rockies
- Chicago Cubs
- Cleveland Indians
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Seattle Mariners
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