OnlyBucs

So, I was thinking about this earlier today and started trying to put one together. I was flummoxed :-/ and dismayed pretty quickly. I did not come up with anything that will strike fear into LHSPs - assuming no Machado signing ::).



I'm assuming a bench of Kang/Moran, Gonzalez/Newman, Melky, Diaz/Cervelli. If there is a 5th guy, it'll probably be Stallings when it should be one of Reyes/Kramer.



What do you see as a likely lineup?

Melky hits lefties pretty well. Marte and hopefully Kang should be could bats against lefties as well. Same goes for Cervelli. Fraiser certainly holds his own vs. lefties.

I checked the splits. Bucs not so good against lefties.

So, for example, who leads off against LHSPs? Marte? Melky? And who bats 3rd? The one of Marte/Melky not leading off? Diaz/Cervelli? And who is in the 2 spot?



4 and 5 are split between Bell and Kang (fingers crossed).



Frazier, Dickerson, and Newman/Gonzalez bat 6-7-8.



It’s not that I couldn’t make out a lineup card, it’s finding one without so many holes and question marks.

497E686864783A383A380B0 wrote: Melky hits lefties pretty well.  Marte and hopefully Kang should be could bats against lefties as well.  Same goes for Cervelli.  Fraiser certainly holds his own vs. lefties.
Frazier’s OPS vs LHP < .600.



Maybe Gonzalez and Newman both start against LHSPs?

The only guys currently on roster with any credibility for leadoff vs. LHSP are Pablo Reyes and Kevin Newman. Newman actually posted an .866 OPS vs lefties last year, and he can steal bases. I hope they make room for him, either at SS or 2B, because Pablo hasn't historically mashed lefties, though he sure did in his callup last year. Maybe they'll both get a shot, but I'm worried about Pablo making the 25-man.



Maybe we'll see a lineup like this:

Newman, SS

Marte, CF

Cervelli or Diaz, C

Bell, 1B

Kang, 3B or Cabrera, RF (watch ST)

Dickerson, LF

Cabrera, RF or Kang, 3B (watch ST)

Frazier, 2B

Pitcher



That puts two lefties on the bench: Moran and Chisenhall. The other catcher can pinch hit, as can righties Reyes and Erik Gonzalez.

6275635442424E210 wrote: Melky hits lefties pretty well.  Marte and hopefully Kang should be could bats against lefties as well.  Same goes for Cervelli.  Fraiser certainly holds his own vs. lefties.
Frazier’s OPS vs LHP < .600.



Maybe Gonzalez and Newman both start against LHSPs?
Frazier hit poorly vs LHP last year but he's not bad career-wise. His career BA split is .286 vs LHP and .279 vs RHP. But he has only 1 HR vs LHP, which brings down his SLG. Since OPS is weighted heavily by SLG, it also brings down his OPS. His career OBP vs LHP s .323, which isn't great and isn't awful. So I think the jury's still out on him vs LHP. Prior to last year, he did ok vs LHP. But last year is the most recent info we have so maybe it should be given more weight. I would go into the season letting him stat vs LHP and make adjustments if necessary.

Over the last two years Corey Dickerson has hit .301 vs lefties

Oh, come on. If you guys want to be serious about predicting who might start versus left-handers, you have to ask the relevant questions. All this stat stuff is just fluff. Really, is the guy a veteran? You know a rookie can't hit. Is he in a slump? You can't get out of a slump unless you play. Did he have a hit yesterday? He really should rest today. You don't want to overdo it, especially since this isn't September yet. I'm sure there are other questions as well . . .