Looking at Lineups - NL East
Examining spring lineups to try to guess at what we'll see when the season begins
It would be very helpful for me to have some default lineups in a data file when the season gets rolling. That will help immensely with getting my daily projections (available to MLB DW Pro subs) out as early as possible while having mostly accurate lineup projections.
So Hunter and I are going through each division this spring, checking what’s going on in their spring lineups.
The World Baseball Classic throws a wrench into the works since teams are missing players for that. But we had 10 days of action before that became a thing, so I think we can do okay with this.
FEEL FREE TO COMMENT and correct me, though. The best way to do this would be a crowd source of super fans of each club. I’m sure there are several people out there reading this who know these individual teams better than I do. So leave your thoughts in the comments! They’re open to all.
And we must give the link to what the man, Mike Kurland, is doing. He doesn’t wanna work for anybody else, so he’s been doing his thing via X articles. Check those out here.
Braves
My guess:
Ronald Acuña Jr. CF
Drake Baldwin C
Matt Olson 1B
Austin Riley 3B
Ozzie Albies 2B
Mike Yastrzemski LF
Michael Harris II RF
Dominic Smith? Eli White? DH
Mauricio Dubon SS
Notes
Drake Baldwin has been hitting #2
Mauricio Dubon will be forced to be the shortstop until Ha-Seong Kim returns
The impending Jurickson Profar suspension makes their DH situation really gross
Phillies
My guess:
Trea Turner SS
Kyle Schwarber DH
Bryce Harper 1B
Adolis Garcia RF
Bryson Stott 2B
J.T. Realmuto C
Alec Bohm 3B
Brandon Marsh LF
Justin Crawford CF
Notes:
Adolis Garcia has not hit lower than 5th this spring, so he’s going to be in a run-producing spot in the lineup, probably right behind Schwarber and Harper, which is very nice for him.
The path is clear for Justin Crawford now, as Johan Rojas is facing a PED suspension.
They like to platoon Brandon Marsh, but it might not be that easy to do this year. It’s a pretty weak roster after the studs at the top of the lineup.
The bench looks like Edmundo Sosa, Otto Kemp, and Dylan Moore. If Moore makes the team (he’s a non-roster invitee [NRI]), he’ll play some against lefties. But I think you’ll have to see a good bit of Marsh this year.
Mets
My guess:
Francisco Lindor SS
Juan Soto LF
Bo Bichette 3B
Jorge Polanco 1B
Marcus Semien 2B
Luis Robert Jr. CF
Brett Baty DH
Francisco Alvarez C
Carson Benge RF
Notes
Francisco Lindor is on the shelf right now, so we won’t get a real lineup preview from them. This is a bit tougher, especially because five of these nine guys have never played a regular season game for the New York Mets.
Carson Benge has hit 1st, 1st, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in his starts. That won’t happen with Lindor/Soto healthy, but I do think he’s going to make the team as their right fielder.
Francisco Alvarez is more of a run-producing bat, but his most common lineup spot last year was 7th, so I’m putting him in the bottom third.
Marcus Semien has made his living at the top of the lineup, but there’s no spot for him there on this team. He’ll be the lead-off man if Lindor starts the year on the shelf, as shown by him hitting 1st or 2nd exclusively this spring, but on a fully healthy team I think he backs up to the 5-6 range.
Brett Baty will play every time against righties, but will probably give up a little bit of work to Mark Vientos against lefties
Jorge Polanco is learning first base this spring. He’s replacing Alonso. So far, he’s made two starts and has hit 2nd in both, but that’s with Juan Soto out of town for the WBC. I’m guessing he’s their clean-up man as he has more raw power than Bichette and Semien.
Marlins
Xavier Edwards 2B
Jakob Marsee CF
Kyle Stowers LF
Agustin Ramirez C
Griffin Conine DH
Otto Lopez SS
Owen Caissie RF
Connor Norby 3B
Liam Hicks 1B
Notes
It’s been Xavier Edwards and Jakob Marsee 1-2 when they’ve both played, and I think that’s right.
Agustin Ramirez will get plenty of DH starts, but his primary position remains catcher, so we’ll use him there in the default lineup. And he’ll certainly be in a prominent position in this lineup.
Maybe Kyle Stowers hits fourth, I don’t know, but the 3/4 are him and Stowers.
They’ve been hitting Griffin Conine in a power spot all spring as well, so it looks like he’ll be a big part of the lineup.
Otto Lopez hit mostly 3rd-5th last year, but I’m pushing him back a bit after the Ramirez and Stowers breakouts last year.
Connor Norby is definitely the third baseman, but he’s more of a bottom-third bat to me.
Owen Caissie won’t start against lefties, I don’t think, and he’ll have to prove it against righties to move up the lineup against righties. But he has hit 5th, 4th, 5th, and 2nd in his four starts this spring (but we haven’t seen him since 2/28).
Nationals
Nasim Nunez 2B
James Wood DH
CJ Abrams SS
Luis Garcia 1B
Daylen Lile LF
Dylan Crews RF
Brady House 3B
Keibert Ruiz C
Jacob Young CF
Notes
Another tough one, because there just aren’t many proven big leaguers here. The locks are Wood, Abrams, Garcia, Lile, Crews, and Ruiz
Jacob Young should be fine with that centerfield defense, and he’s an easy pick to hit 9th.
Nasim Nunez has led off in all six starts this spring, so we have to think that’s going to happen in the regular season for now. It pushes Luis Garcia to first base, unless Brady House doesn’t earn himself another try. At that point, Nunez probably goes to third, Garcia to second, and then you get a Andres Chaparro or Abimelec Ortiz at first
I could be very wrong about this, please correct me if you have a better feel for it.