MLB: Worst Production from the Number Two Spot
- Colorado Rockies (87 wRC+)—DJ LeMahieu (89% of team PA)
LeMahieu had what looks like a solid hitting season–.310/.374/.409 — but you have to remember that his home park is Coors Field. His batting line after adjusting for league and ballpark was six percent below league average. He took up most of the team’s plate appearances in the number two spot in the lineup, which is why they finished in the bottom five in the league in wRC+ from that spot. Still, the Rockies made the MLB playoffs last year, so expect DJ back in the number two spot again this year.
- San Diego Padres (87 wRC+)—Carlos Asuaje (37% of team PA)
The Padres’ 27th-place finish in wRC+ from the second spot in the lineup isn’t their worst ranking. Their number four hitters were 29th in baseball, and their number seven hitters were 30th. This was a team that finished 29th in baseball in wRC+, only ahead of the San Francisco Giants. Asuaje finished third on the team in OBP among hitters who had 50 or more plate appearances, so he wasn’t a wrong choice for the number two spot.
- New York Mets (86 wRC+)—Asdrubal Cabrera (48% of team PA)
The number two spot was the second least-productive of the top eight spots in the lineup for the Mets last year. Only the sixth slot was worse. Asdrubal Cabrera was the chief offender, with an 84 wRC+ in 352 plate appearances batting second, but Jose Reyes was less productive on a rate basis (67 wRC+ in 135 PA). The bad news for Mets fans is that both will be back with the team next year and Cabrera has slated for the number two hole again.
- Atlanta Braves (82 wRC+)—Brandon Phillips (56% of team PA)
After hitting .302/.361/.442 in a 38-game sample in 2016, young Dansby Swanson started last season batting second for the Braves. He hit .131/.159/.197 in his first 14 games and was dropped to eighth in the lineup. He would get more time in the number two spot later in the year, but Brandon Phillips got the bulk of the plate appearances there. The 36-year-old Phillips continued a five-year trend of being a below average hitter, thanks mainly to a below average on-base percentage. He was traded to the Angels in August, so he won’t be back to bring down the production in the number two spot for the Braves this year. It looks like Ozzie Albies will hit in front of Freddie Freeman in 2018.
- Chicago White Sox (81 wRC+)—Melky Cabrera (37% of team PA)
The least productive team in MLB out of the number two spot last year was the White Sox. Melky Cabrera had the most plate appearances out of the two hole, but he was actually above average (107 wRC+). It was the combination of Yolmer Sanchez (75 wRC+ in 96 PA), Tim Anderson (41 wRC+ in 81 PA) and Tyler Saladino (-8 wRC+ in 94 PA) that brought the team down to the depths of despair. The good news is that Yoan Moncada came up in July, took over the number two spot in mid-August and hit .265/.346/.471 down the stretch (120 wRC+). He should be back in that spot this season.
Next: The five best and worst teams at the leadoff spot in 2017
For most of the last 16 MLB seasons, the number two spot in the lineup has been the least productive of the top six spots. This started to change a few years ago, ultimately leading to last season’s MLB best wRC+ by number two hitters in the previous 16 years. Last year, the most productive spot was the number three hitter, followed by the number four hitter, with the number two hitter coming in third.