The All-Star lineups are in. The AL has a Doctor Who lineup, with two hearts of the order (1-3 and 4-6 could bat 3-5 on any team). The NL lineup is interesting, with Brandon Phillips batting lead-off and Bryce Harper batting ninth. Phillips owns a low OBP and is best known for hitting well with runners in scoring position. In fact, Bochy puts his two worst OBPs for the season in the 1-2 slots. In fact, the lineup looks very much out of kilter to me, and the Lineup Analysis Tool agrees. The Rockies contingent should all be batting higher, and the Phillips and Beltran much lower. The optimum lineup would score 6.84 runs per game, the worst 6.35 runs per game, and Bochy’s lineup comes in at 6.50. That’s much closer to the bottom than the top.
BP batted leadoff for the Reds for the majority of 2010 (.251/.302/.394), 38 more games in 2011 (.350/.417/.573) and 28 more games in 2012 (.202/.254/.298) with obviously mixed results. His struggles last season (followed by Drew Stubbs’ ineptitude in the leadoff slot) compelled the Reds to acquire Choo over the winter. Phillips is certainly no stranger to leading off.