FanPost

Crafting the optimal lineup for the 2017 Angels

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Optimizing a team's batting order is certainly not as important as it might seem. In fact, using an "optimal" lineup over a "typical" lineup has been shown to only result in about one extra win per season. However, as we saw in 2015, one win can make all the difference. With that in mind, let's put together the ideal Angels lineup for 2017.

Despite the additions they have made this offseason, the Angels' lineup probably won't change all that much from last season. But maybe it should. Now, I'm not talking about making any radical changes, like hitting Albert Pujols leadoff (though it might be entertaining watching him run the bases more) or hitting Mike Trout ninth (though he would add some pop to the bottom of the order). But there are some practical changes that Mike Scioscia could make that could lead to a more potent Angels offense.

Option 1:

Yunel Escobar - 3B

Cameron Maybin - LF

Mike Trout - CF

Albert Pujols - DH

Kole Calhoun - RF

C.J. Cron - 1B

Andrelton Simmons - SS

Danny Espinosa - 2B

Carlos Perez/Martin Maldonado - C

I think this is the lineup Scioscia most likely rolls out on Opening Day. It is nearly identical to the one we saw last season, with one major difference. The acquisition of Maybin would allow Calhoun to move from second to fifth, a run-producing spot in the lineup. This also splits the right-handed power bats of Pujols and Cron with a left-handed hitter. In addition, slotting Maybin into the two-hole capitalizes on his speed and baserunning. Furthermore, moving Calhoun down in the lineup lengthens it considerably because it also moves Cron down, meaning the three through six hitters all have the potential to hit 20-plus homers. The biggest downside to this lineup is the fact that one of the worst baserunners in the league, Escobar, is still in the leadoff spot, which I will address next.

Option 2:

Calhoun - RF

Maybin - LF

Trout - CF

Pujols - DH

Cron - 1B

Escobar - 3B

Espinosa - 2B

Perez/Maldonado - C

Simmons - SS

This is my preferred batting order. Calhoun is still the best leadoff hitter the Angels have. His .348 OBP last season was a career-high, which is only slightly lower than Escobar's .355. And according to FanGraphs' baserunning metric, he is an above average baserunner, unlike Escobar. Both of these factors combine to make him the best option the Angels have for the leadoff spot; he gets on base a good amount and doesn't make many mistakes on the basepaths, allowing the Angels' big bats to more easily drive him in. I also think that Escobar's contact-driven approach would be a perfect fit in the six spot, as putting the ball in play, and not striking out, is key to driving in runs. You could even swap him with Cron, and break up the power bats with a contact one.

Also notable about his lineup configuration is Simmons hitting ninth. I've never really agreed with the philosophy of just throwing your worst hitters to the bottom of the lineup. Of course you want your best hitters getting the most plate appearances, but you also don't want the bottom third of the batting order to be a black hole. A balance must be struck, and I think Simmons' game makes him the ideal number nine hitter, as his athleticism and ability to put the ball in play would conceivably allow him to act as that "second leadoff" type, helping turn the lineup over.

And while he did markedly improve at the plate in the second half of last season, he will still likely be no more than a league-average hitter next season, so it's not as if it's really necessary to maximize his number of plate appearances. He is also prone to grounding into double plays, further reason why you wouldn't want him higher in the order. If you're looking for the deepest possible Angels lineup, it would look something like this.

Option 3:

Calhoun - RF

Trout - CF

Pujols - DH

Cron - 1B

Escobar - 3B

Maybin - LF

Simmons - SS

Espinosa - 2B

Perez/Maldonado - C

In 2014, the Angels' offense led the league in runs with Calhoun, Trout, and Pujols as the top three in the order. However, they also had Howie Kendrick, Josh Hamilton (sometimes), Chris Iannetta, and David Freese -- all above-average hitters that year -- lower in the lineup. Fast forward to 2017, all of those guys are gone, and the Angels have mostly replaced them with lesser hitters.

Ask a sabermetrician, and they'll tell you that teams should bat their best hitters second. And in a perfect world, the Angels would do just that. But they simply cannot pull it off right now. They no longer have the lineup depth they had in 2014, and it just wouldn't make much sense to try to replicate that batting order. With the exception of Espinosa, this lineup would have almost no punch after Cron, which would probably lead to them having a tough time scoring runs. Hitting Maybin so low in the lineup would also be wasting his speed and baserunning ability, his biggest strengths.

So there you have it. You could make small tweaks to each one, but those three options are what I think are the Angels' best choices for configuring their lineup next season. Option 1 is the most likely; option 2 might be the most logical; and option 3 only makes sense if they add another big bat.

This FanPost is authored by an independent fan. Tell us what you think and how you feel.

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