Philadelphia Phillies: September’s lineup options
By Tal Venada
Today’s strategy:
On Sept. 1, the Phillies had employed 110 different batting orders compared to the Dodgers’ 132 leading the MLB and the Cleveland Indians’ 86 at the bottom. In fact, 18 franchises used more than the red pinstripes.
Besides Los Angeles (NL), their Fall Classic rival Houston had 117, and the Chicago Cubs had 124 to the Yankees’ 113. Now, the Phils and the Indians have even more.
The Phillies' 110 different batting order combinations this year sounds like a lot, but 18 teams have used more. Dodgers lead MLB with 132 & Indians have used the fewest at 86.
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) September 1, 2018
Among teams that have used more batting order combos than Phils: Cubs (124), Astros (117), NYY (113).
If you go inside Kapler’s statistics, a regular who has success against a certain starter bats in an RBI slot. For Instance, Odubel Herrera hit cleanup against Max “Blue Eye” Scherzer and launched a home run. However, the lineups below are only the more frequent ones. Baseball in 2018!
"WORDS OF WISDOM: “You’ve got to think about big things while you’re doing small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction.” – Alvin Toffler"
Currently, many are clamoring for Roman Quinn to leadoff, but opposing managers and their coaches are viewing video for holes in the speedster’s swing. They do not want him on base. On the other hand, Cesar Hernandez takes many pitches his teammates study to see what the hurler has that day.
In the two hole, Hoskins provides run production but also has the speed to advance two bags. However, he might need a day or two off from the 162 grind because he’ll again be playing a month longer than Triple-A. At least, he had the offseason to hopefully prepare after suffering fatigue last September.