Josh Hamilton could be an unusual #2 hitter for the Rangers. Photo: John Cordes/Icon SMI
The series on team offense continues with the Texas Rangers. The Rangers finished third in the majors and the American League in offense last season, scoring 5.28 runs per game. There is a huge gap between the top three teams and the rest of the league. Texas finished 0.4 runs per game better than the fourth best team.
The CBSSportsline probable batting order is the one Ron Washington is likely to write up this season. The OBP and slugging percentage used come from the Marcel the Monkey forecast system. Plugging those numbers in the Lineup Analysis Tool (LAT) produces the following results:
- Best lineup: 5.36 runs per game
- Probable lineup: 5.26 runs per game
- Worst lineup: 5.07 runs per game
- Regressed lineup: 4.79 runs per game
Like the Yankees, it’s tough to put together a bad lineup. The LAT likes the slow Mike Napoli at the top of the lineups and the fast Elvis Andrus as a secondary lead-off hitter in the ninth slot, but I can believe the #2 slot is not the best place for a catcher. So Washington’s lineup gets very close to the optimum. I really like the idea of Andrus ninth, Ian Kinsler first, and Josh Hamilton second. There’s nothing wrong with getting Josh a few more at bats that way over the course of the season.
You can see the results of all the teams on this Google spreadsheet as the series progresses.
Previous articles in this series:
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