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November 09, 2006

Reviewing the Ranger Lineup: #6 Hitters

The quality of American League lineups drops off sharply after the fifth hitter. #6 hitters lose 34 points of OBP and 43 of slugging to their #5 counterparts. On the whole, they have lackluster on-base skills and respectable power.

Check here for stat descriptions.

Texas #5 Hitters:

Player
% of Team PA
OPS
L-OPS+
OBP
L-OBP+
SLG
L-SLG+
R
HR
RBI
BB
SO
Net SB
K Mench
35%
.781
102
.319
98
.462
104
24
10
39
13
27
1
M DeRosa
29%
.723
89
.320
98
.403
90
31
5
26
14
44
-4
I Kinsler
11%
.610
61
.286
88
.324
73
8
1
4
4
10
-1
B Wilkerson
11%
.928
136
.338
104
.590
132
16
6
16
9
22
2
H Blalock
7%
.442
17
.220
68
.222
50
4
1
5
3
15
0
The Rest
6%
.826
117
.382
117
.444
100
9
1
5
6
6
0
TEAM
-
.737
91
.314
97
.423
95
92
24
95
49
124
-2
AL Average*
-
.772
-
.325
-
.446
-
83
24
85
50
116
-2
Team Rank in AL
-
-
10
-
9
-
10
3
7
4
7
10
6

Kevin Mench embodied the perfectly average #6 hitter, batting .276/.319/.462. 2006 represented his final chance to step forward and make himself a permanent fixture in Texas, and in that respect he failed. The power came in one astonishing burst, seven homers in consecutive games during late April. In those games he batted .414/.414/.931, in his other 80 in Texas he hit only .271/.331/.364 with five homers. Still, purely in terms of other #6 hitters, he performed adequately overall.

Mark DeRosa spent much of the season’s second half and a plurality of his overall time batting sixth. DeRosa cooled off after the All-Star break, walking and homering with more frequency but losing 70 points of batting average and almost half of his rate of doubles. Despite the decline, his post-break line of .265/.333/.423 bettered his pre-2006 career of .262/.324/.380. Some team, not likely Texas, will pay him commensurately to his 2006 performance alone, not the prior years.

Ian Kinsler started twenty games in the #6 hole, mostly late in the season but never more than two games consecutively. For no particular reason, he hit much worse there than in the lineup’s final three spots. His overall line of .286/.347/.454 makes him a solid #2 and tolerable leadoff hitter. Brad Wilkerson shared the six spot with Kevin Mench from mid-May until mid-June and batted well. Hank Blalock often hit sixth against lefties during the second half. “Hank Blalock,” “lefties” and “second half” created a familiar toxic brew.

Texas failed to achieve league-average OBP or slugging from any of the #4, #5 or #6 spots.

American League #6 Hitters:

TEAM
OPS
L-OPS+
OBP
L-OBP+
SLG
L-SLG+
R
HR
RBI
Cleveland
.880
134
.365
114
.515
121
98
29
110
Baltimore
.830
119
.358
110
.472
108
89
25
72
NY Yankees
.819
115
.342
106
.477
109
101
27
103
Minnesota
.806
114
.325
102
.482
112
91
35
111
Detroit
.792
109
.319
98
.474
110
87
30
95
Kansas City
.775
101
.338
102
.437
99
79
16
86
Boston
.758
101
.343
106
.415
95
86
18
81
LA Angels
.731
94
.306
95
.425
99
80
24
80
Tampa Bay
.740
93
.297
92
.442
101
64
27
77
Texas
.737
91
.314
97
.423
95
92
24
95
Oakland
.711
90
.315
98
.396
92
88
19
64
Chicago Sox
.721
86
.305
94
.416
93
76
22
86
Seattle
.671
81
.298
93
.373
88
69
20
69
Toronto
.686
79
.308
95
.378
84
64
13
61

Best #6 hitting: Cleveland. Ben Broussard, Eduardo Perez, Ron Beilliard, Casey Blake and several others combined for 29 homers and 110 RBI. Only Jhonny Peralta (.286/.348/.389) failed to supply the requisite power.

Worst: Toronto. The Jays had no choice but to dump the overly honest Shea Hillenbrand, but they did miss his bat. Hilly hit .297/.341/.431 in one-third of the team’s appearances from the #6 spot, while his teammates (Molina, Rios, Zaun, Hill, etc.) provided a lifeless .246/.295/.352 in 450 appearances.

Posted by Lucas at November 9, 2006 07:28 PM