The 2018 series on team offense continues with the Minnesota Twins. The Twins finished seventh in the major leagues and fourth in the American League in 2017 with 5.03 runs scored per game.
I am using RotoChamp as a source of default lineups. That Paul Molitor 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: 4.99
Probable lineup: 4.90
Worst lineup: 4.74
Regressed lineup: 4.54
The Twins are another low spread teams, with just 0.25 runs between the best and worst lineups. Interestingly, the LAT likes Brian Dozier batting cleanup, while the Twins have him once again slotted in the lead-off spot. The LAT sees the fourth slot as a combination position. It’s a slot that has the power to drive in the table setters, but also the OBP to set up the power lower in the order. Dozier owns the best power on the team, and the third best OBP. Joe Mauer and Miguel Sano do a better job of getting on base, so in the top order, they are 1-2. However, there are lineups that bat Dozier second, with Mauer and Sano setting Dozier up from the 9-1 positions. That order does put the three best hitters in the lineup together, although it gives Mauer fewer plate appearances.
Overall, there are not a lot of gaudy numbers in the lineup, but neither are there few poor numbers. Without a true superstar, the team looks like it could score five runs a game. With good pitching, that’s enough to win.
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
- Houston Astros
- New York Yankees
- Colorado Rockies
- Chicago Cubs
- Washington Nationals
- Cleveland Indians
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