Lineups. What you think the team will do and what you would like to see them do (most of us dream on moving Dozier from leadoff) while keeping established trends in mind; i.e. L/R balance, power bunched together, etc. probably makes sense to have Lineups with and without Sano, vs LHP and RHP. I only crowdsource this because the L/R balance is more difficult to obviously achieve with the addition of Morrison. I know Molitor doesn’t like to run the same lineup out Day in and day out, so this whole excersize May be moot, but I would be interested in seeing your takes.

OK, I'll bite.

Assuming everyone is healthy:

 

Buxton (8)

Mauer (3)

Sano (5)

Rosario (7)

Dozier (4)

Morrison (DH)

Polanco (6)

Castro (2)

Kepler (9)

 

I'm a believer in alternating L and R batters to make it more difficult for the opposing manager to leverage his bullpen. It's time to put Buxton at the top of the lineup and take advantage of the disruptive effect of his baserunning with the best bat-control guy on the team behind him.

...

Buxton (8)

Mauer (3)

Sano (5)

Rosario (7)

Dozier (4)

Morrison (DH)

Polanco (6)

Castro (2)

Kepler (9)

 

I'm a believer in alternating L and R...

I ran into a similar conundrum as you might have when constructing that. Dozier will most likely hit leadoff, might not want to have Buxton too high to start the season, and you don’t want Kepler too low. FWIW, assuming Sano and health, I think I have:

 

Dozier

Mauer

Sano

Morrison

Rosario

Buxton

Kepler

Polanco

Castro

 

I don’t like Morrison/Rosario as the L/L and Buxton/Polanco can be swapped in this scenario, but there will be some challenges present to balance the lefties and optimize the strengths.

I would (but won't happen) have Mauer leadoff.

 

1-Mauer

2-Dozier

3-Sano

4-Morrison

5-Buxton

6-Rosario

7-Polanco

8-Kepler

9-Castro

Versus RHP

Dozier R

Mauer L

Sano R

Morrison L

Buxton R

Rosario L

Polanco S

Kepler L

Castro L

 

Versus LHP

Dozier R

Polanco S

Buxton R

Sano R

Morrison L

Grossman S

Rosario L

Mauer L

Garver R

 

Edited February 26, 20188 yr by GP830