FanPost

Lineup Musings

Since I'm bored at work and it's 4pm on Friday, I figured I'd make a post for lineup theories, wishes, gripes, "situations", etc... I am not very knowledgeable about baseball, but I am learning. So, I took a little bit of time to look up the triple slash numbers and a few other stats for the Royals regulars in an effort to come up with a line-up that I would consider "ideal." I learned a few things along the way:

1. There are four Royals who can hit. Everyone else seems to suck.

2. In spite of being "the best hitter" on the squad, Alex Gordon has struck out A LOT this year.

3. Moose is absolutely awful at the dish.

4. Getz is worse.

Anyhow, here is my proposed lineup and I'll follow each entry with some reasoning. As a preface, I looked at triple slash numbers, strikeouts, walks and stolen bases. Additionally, I used the preconcieved notions about the players that I've formed after watching approximately 50 innings of the Royals this year. I did not include Chris Getz or Jeff "Frenchy the frenchman" Francouer because they are bad and they shouldn't be getting regular PA's. Luckily, there are other dudes on the squad that have gotten some playing time in spite of the front office's obsession with underproducing players.

1. Lorenzo Cain - Why this guy is not leading off is a mystery to me. I believe it's because LOCain doesn't "seem" like a typical leadoff hitter. However, this dude has the second best triple slash line on the squad in addition to six stolen bases and ten walks. Not too shabby.

2. Alcides Escobar - I had four different hitters in the two hole before I settled on Alcides. This, I'll admit, is a decision based more on my perception of him than his numbers. The real problem with putting any other Royal in this slot is that not many of them run the bases well. Escobar appears to have decent situational hitting and does well on the basepaths. He's got 8 stolen bases and 7 walks.

3. Alex Gordon - Well, if he can't bat leadoff, he should hit third. The dude is slugging .525 right now and, while he's struck out 35 times already this year, he's a good bet to make some contact and move the runners over. With Lorenzo and/or Alcides on base, he'll probably pile on the rbizz.

4. Billy Butler - I would love to have put Big Bacon in the two-hole, but he'd clog up the basepaths with his slowness awesomeness. If only he were faster. He's walkd 21 tiems this year to 22 strikeouts. This is probably inflating his OBP a little, but we know that he's a great hitter. I debated with myself a lot about whether he should go four or five, but I ultimately chose four because he's a better bet to get on base than the next dude...

5. Salvador Perez - He's the third best hitter on the squad right now (with more than a certain number of PAs) and I'd hit him in the five-spot to protect Butler. I think a good case could be made for moving Escobar down and Billy and Salvador up because, like, they are way better hitters, but Perez is more of a power guy and strikes out a lot. He's walked thrice so far this year.

6. Eric Hosmer - He's got "okay" numbers, but not for a first baseperson. He needs to start hitting. He's sixth because he's hitting better than the other shitty hitters on the squad rigth now.

7. Mike Moustakas - This dude is not hitting at all. He's been bad since the 2012 ASG and needs to get demoted. If he's on the squad, I'm hitting him here, I guess...

8. Elliot Johnson - Johnson gets stuck down here because, though his triple slash line says he's doing better than Hos, I fully expect him to regress. He's basically Zetg Sirhc with a slightly better bat. I wish Giavotella was called up so that I could have put him in the lineup. This may as well be the second baseperson's spot.

9. Jarrod Dyson - This is where I will put poor Jarrod. There are several reasons for this. First being that he will probably be able to get on base for the top of the order and I feel like writing a batting order that doesn't give a little bit of a chance for your best hitters to get some rbizz is silly. Sure, it's looks like a list on paper, but it's actually a circle. I originally had Moose in the 8 spot, but I started thinking that It would be better to have the "worst" hitter in the nether-region of the seventh circle hole. I believe, and this is purely based on belief, that this will give the top of the order a lot more chance to score runs the second time through. And secondovly... well, I guess I only had one reason.

So, that's my little piece. Thanks for reading. Feel free to brutally eviscerate my person or my ideas. Also, feel free to post your own lineup and ignore this one completely. I'm curious to know what regular Royals Reviewers think would be an optimal lineup for our beloved batsmen. Happy Friday, everybody!

This FanPost was written by a member of the Royals Review community. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the editors and writers of this site.