The 2022 series on team offense continues with the New York Yankees. The Yankees finished nineteenth in the majors and tenth in the American League in 2021 with 4.39 runs scored per game.
This season I am using FanGraphs Roster Resource Depth Charts* as the source of default lineups. That Aaron Boone batting order is plugged into the Lineup Analysis Tool (LAT) using Musings Marcels as the batter projections. That information produces the following results (Runs per game):
- Best lineup: 5.17
- Probable lineup: 5.14
- Worst lineup: 4.93
- Regressed lineup: 4.69
As with other teams suffering down offensive years in 2021, the Yankees mostly need to stay healthy to bounce back. One through six in the default lineup are capable of putting up great offensive numbers. I like Anthony Rizzo leading off, and I like Joey Gallo batting third. The LAT tends to place a less accomplished hitter third. Gallo will no doubt will leave men on base for Giancarlo Stanton, but Gallo will also drive in a lot of those runners with his power.
This lineup, in fact is not the closest one in the study to the optimum lineup. The Yankees capture 87.5% of the best scoring lineup. In addition, the 22nd best lineup as calculated by the LAT agrees with the default on slots one through seven. All Boone needs to do is move Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the ninth slot and Ben Rortvedt to the eight slot to have a perfect match. It seems this idea for lineup construction has caught on over the last 15 seasons.
The Yankees lineup, at it’s best will be on par with Rays, but lagging behind the Blue Jays and Red Sox.
You can follow the data for the series in this Google spreadsheet.
Previous posts in this series:
- Introduction
- Houston Astros
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- Boston Red Sox
- San Francisco Giants
- Chicago White Sox
- Atlanta Braves
- Colorado Rockies
- Oakland Athletics
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Minnesota Twins
- San Diego Padres
- Washington Nationals
- Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
- Cleveland Guardians
*This is the best version of this information I’ve seen, with everything you might want to know on one page.