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October 27, 2006
Reviewing the Ranger Lineup: #2 Hitters
Check here for stat descriptions. Forgot to mention that "Net SB" equals SB - 2 x CS.
Texas #2 Hitters:
| Player | % of Team PA |
OPS |
L-OPS+ |
OBP |
L-OBP+ |
SLG |
L-SLG+ |
R |
HR |
RBI |
BB |
SO |
Net SB |
| M Young | 82% |
.833 |
114 |
.365 |
105 |
.468 |
109 |
80 |
11 |
85 |
39 |
74 |
0 |
| M DeRosa | 9% |
.753 |
94 |
.343 |
99 |
.410 |
95 |
7 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
10 |
0 |
| I Kinsler | 7% |
.536 |
41 |
.291 |
84 |
.245 |
57 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
11 |
1 |
| The Rest | 2% |
.543 |
43 |
.293 |
85 |
.250 |
58 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
| TEAM | - |
.798 |
105 |
.356 |
103 |
.442 |
103 |
94 |
12 |
90 |
51 |
99 |
1 |
| AL Average* | - |
.777 |
- |
.346 |
- |
.431 |
- |
103 |
15 |
83 |
56 |
103 |
3 |
| Team Rank in AL | - |
- |
6 |
- |
5 |
- |
6 |
12 |
10 |
4 |
9 |
7 |
9 |
Michael Young lost 29 points of OBP and 54 of slugging in 2006 but still ranked among the best #2 hitters in the AL. Reviewing his last four years, 2005’s .331/.385/.513 may represent his peak, and Texas fans will have to tolerate something like .310/.355/.470 for the next couple of years. Should Young’s 2006 be indicative of his future, he doesn’t quite pan out relative to other #3 hitters. Here’s a fun table of how Young’s overall line (not just batting 2nd) of .314/.356/.459 measures up if he’d batted the entire season in a particular spot in the order:
Pos |
L-OPS+ |
L-obp+ |
L-slg+ |
| 1 |
108 |
101 |
107 |
| 2 |
109 |
103 |
106 |
| 3 |
95 |
99 |
95 |
| 4 |
87 |
97 |
90 |
| 5 |
93 |
99 |
94 |
| 6 |
112 |
109 |
103 |
| 7 |
115 |
110 |
105 |
| 8 |
126 |
111 |
115 |
| 9 |
139 |
117 |
122 |
The table doesn’t indicate the best spot in the lineup for Young (“A 139 L-OPS+ from the ninth spot? Let’s bat Young there!”) but it could suggest where he tops out. The table also doesn’t consider other personnel. If the Rangers don’t acquire a big bat to replace Carlos Lee, batting Young third and Teixeira fourth might be optimal (perhaps with Ian Kinsler occupying one of the top two spots).
Mark DeRosa filled the #2 slot adequately. Kinsler and a few others didn’t offer much.
American League #2 Hitters:
| TEAM | OPS |
L-OPS+ |
OBP |
L-OBP+ |
SLG |
L-SLG+ |
| Toronto | .853 |
119 |
.372 |
108 |
.482 |
111 |
| NY Yankees | .826 |
116 |
.381 |
111 |
.445 |
105 |
| Seattle | .800 |
112 |
.329 |
96 |
.471 |
115 |
| Texas | .798 |
105 |
.356 |
103 |
.442 |
103 |
| Tampa Bay | .793 |
106 |
.330 |
96 |
.464 |
110 |
| LA Angels | .783 |
107 |
.357 |
104 |
.426 |
103 |
| Chicago Sox | .760 |
96 |
.349 |
101 |
.411 |
95 |
| Kansas City | .758 |
94 |
.342 |
97 |
.416 |
97 |
| Oakland | .756 |
99 |
.340 |
100 |
.416 |
100 |
| Baltimore | .731 |
91 |
.331 |
96 |
.400 |
95 |
| Detroit | .731 |
92 |
.326 |
95 |
.405 |
98 |
| Minnesota | .726 |
94 |
.349 |
103 |
.377 |
91 |
| Cleveland | .721 |
91 |
.326 |
96 |
.395 |
96 |
| Boston | .700 |
84 |
.334 |
97 |
.366 |
87 |
Best #2 hitting: Toronto, with former Ranger Frank Catalanatto (.302/.377/.442 in 387 ABs) and Alex Rios (.368/.399/.674 in 144 ABs).
Worst #2 hitting: Red Sox #2 hitters scored an AL-worst 89 runs despite Ortiz and Ramirez batting behind them. Mark Loretta had minimal power but did reach base at a league-average rate (.291/.346/.369). His teammates hit .198/.232/.340 in 91 at-bats.
Posted by Lucas at October 27, 2006 07:42 PM