Where will Trout land in the batting lineup?
TEMPE, ARIZ. » All three of the Angels managers who have written Mike Trout’s name in the lineup have faced the same dilemma.
Should he bat second or third?
Traditionally, a team’s best hitter has been in the No. 3 spot. However, in recent years analytics have determined that second is at least as good, if not better, for the best hitter, because he gets to the plate more often.
Joe Maddon, who is likely to fill out his first spring training lineup with Trout’s name today, said he’s still
not sure. Maddon said he’s asked assistant GM Alex Tamin to run some numbers.
“I struggle with this every camp, regardless of where I’m at,” Maddon said of lineup decisions. “I go through this exercise, writing it down and all that kind of stuff. Then I just want to watch it. And then I ask for advice from a data perspective. What are they seeing? Then I try to make my conclusions.”
As a rookie, Trout hit leadoff. Since then, though, he’s mostly hit second or third. He’s started 662 games in the No. 2 spot and 385 batting third. He has a 1.015 OPS hitting second, and 1.022 hitting third. He has driven in a run every 6.7 plate appearances hitting third, and one every 6.7 plate appearances hitting second.
The factor that seems to make the difference is whether the Angels, at a given time, have two high on-base percentage players to hit in front of Trout. If not, they’re simply pushing him down in the lineup for no benefit.
Last year much of Trout’s time in the No. 3 spot came after Jared Walsh got hot in September and started hitting second.
“I like the way it played last year when Jared got really toasty, and we had him after (David Fletcher) and in front of Michael,” Maddon said. “I thought we had a really solid chance to have somebody on base every time Trout hit. That’s what it’s always about, feeding him.”
Maddon also enjoyed having the left-handed hitting Walsh among righthanders Fletcher, Trout and Anthony Rendon. The alternative is having those three righties stacked at the top.
If Shohei Ohtani comes back and hits like he has when he’s at his best, he could also be a candidate to put a left-handed bat between Fletcher and Trout. They could also put switchhitting Dexter Fowler there against right-handed pitchers.
“By the middle of the March,” Maddon said, “I should have a stronger feeling regarding how we’re going to want to do this.”
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