20
2013
Projecting The Most Ideal Lineup For Mets This Season
An article by 
Like every manager in the history of the game, I love to tinker with batting orders. So much can happen between now and Opening Day, but when it is below freezing it is as good a time as any to think of what Terry Collins’ lineup could be this summer.
Collins is on record with Ruben Tejada in the leadoff slot, but I’m suggesting a different direction.
Kirk Nieuwenhuis had limited success last season when he first arrived, but pitchers figured him out. I’d like to give Nieuwenhuis the chance to lead off because he initially demonstrated patience and the ability to slap the ball around and run when he firs arrived. If he can rediscover that and become more disciplined he could develop into a good leadoff hitter, and since we’re thinking long-term let’s give it a try because there’s an upside with Nieuwenhuis hitting first.
Tejada would hit second because he has good bat control, knows how to work a pitcher and can bunt. All are ideal for a No. 2 hitter. Tejada can also hit-and-run and steal a base. If Tejada can do all those things, it could get a running game going with Nieuwenhuis. If Nieuwenhuis doesn’t pan out as a leadoff hitter, Tejada would go back to the top. Let’s give it a month.
Your best hitter, defined as the combination of average and power, hits third and that’s David Wright. Figuring Nieuwenhuis and Tejada work out at the top he should get RBI opportunities.
Ike Davis hits fourth because of his power potential. His presence batting clean-up– when he’s hot – should help protect Wright. I want two things from Davis this year: 1) discipline to cut down on his strikeouts and increase his walks, and 2) learn to go to the opposite field. Doing that would force pitchers to pitch to him, thereby making him more dangerous.
Fifth goes to Daniel Murphy because it gives him more RBI opportunities. Murphy is arguably the Mets’ most patient hitter with a high on-base potential. Because of that, I would be tempted to lead him off, but there wouldn’t be much of a running game. Murphy at five also separates strikeout machines Davis and Lucas Duda.
Six is a dilemma between Duda and John Buck. I went with Buck because I didn’t want to go with three consecutive left-handed hitters. Whether Duda bats sixth or seventh, he has no real protection, but splitting the lefties has a greater upside.
At seventh, Duda still has RBI opportunities with Davis and Murphy on base ahead of him. As with Davis, Duda’s success depends upon patience and not giving away at-bats. Collins said Duda has the power to hit 40, which is true. But, he has no chance if he’s still chasing breaking balls in the dirt.
Mike Baxter is eighth because he’s all that’s left and I’m not ready to go Tony La Russa and bat the pitcher there. My hope with Baxter is he’ll get on enough to clear the pitcher’s spot.
Ninth, of course, is the pitcher.
All this changes when Marlon Byrd and Collin Cowgill play, but this is food for thought as the wind howls.
The Lineup
- CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis
- SS Ruben Tejada
- 3B David Wright
- 1B Ike Davis
- 2B Daniel Murphy
- CA John Buck
- LF Lucas Duda
- RF Mike Baxter
About the Author: John Delcos
I am an active member of the BBWAA and have covered Major League Baseball in several capacities for over 20 years, including ten in New York working the Mets' and Yankees' beat. I covered the Baltimore Orioles for eight years and the Cleveland Indians before that. I currently serve as an editor and senior staff writer for Mets Merized Online. Follow me on Twitter @jdelcos.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 42 | 28 | .600 | - |
| Nationals | 34 | 35 | .493 | 7.5 |
| Phillies | 34 | 37 | .479 | 8.5 |
| Mets | 25 | 40 | .385 | 14.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 47 | .319 | 19.5 |
Last updated: 06/18/2013
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Look at the top of the lineup. It’s a Ruben. It’s A Spin. No! It’s Capt Kirk!
What the heck was Danny Heep doing in left field instead of Foster or Mitchell? Those were the good old days in the outfield. lol
I guess the big brown piece of ______ is supposed to be Wright? Looks like he’s in the four spot.
The Mets don’t have everyday players at every position so it doesn’t make much sense to make a lineup without reference to whether the pitcher is a righty or lefty.
I’d like a line-up against righties to look something like this:
1-Baxter 2-Murphy 3-Wright 4-Davis 5-Duda 6-Buck 7-Nieuwenhuis 8-Tejada
Against Lefties:
1-Cowgill 2-Murphy 3-Wright 4-Davis 5-Buck 6-Duda 7-Brown/Byrd 8-Tejada (I’d also be ok with Tejada at leadoff against lefties.)
If Nieuwenhuis is only going to bat 7th against RHP and sit on the bench against LHP, what the hell is he doing on this team in the first place?
Sandy and his goons feel platooning rookies is the best way for them to learn !
Or, a better way to win more games, and isn’t that the whole point?
anyway, as to rookies, depends on who it is. If you are talking about a “star” prospect coming up, where you can project him to be a main cog in the lineup for years to come (Say, Strawberry or Wright or Ike when they came up) then yes, you play them every day to learn OTJ.
but, for guys that are not likely to be more than a PT/bench/platoon type, yes you can use them that way, if the other choice is letting him toil away in Vegas.
not every 25 YO coming up is destined to be an everyday guy.
Hand me the keys you…
Oops, wrong conversation
nice job there. great scene
I do try
” I’d like to give Nieuwenhuis the chance to lead off because he demonstrated patience and the ability to slap the ball around and run. If he can become more disciplined he could develop into a good leadoff hitter, ”
Huh?
No offense but how can you demonstrate patience when you need to be more disciplined? I don’t think I would describe Kirk as a patient hitter.
1 K every 3.2 plat appearances. eek!
murphy is also not an OB machine. Actually one of the bigger hackers on the team, so does make some sense in the 5 hole.
I still think if they get a “normal” team on the field, he would be the 2 hole guy, spraying doubles around the park. Could be a lot of 2nd and 3rd opps for the middle of the order. Plus he is reasonably quick, certainly won’t clog up the basepaths.
but, since odds are there will be 2 OF platoons you really do need seperate LHSP and RHSP lineups.
I like your lineup Joe. I think this would give us a good chance to win games with our pitching lineup.
Sorry should be John notJoe.
If this team had a legit leadoff hitter, a #5 RH hitter with some pop, and a closer, they’d be right in the playoff mix. Since they couldn’t procure those players from outside the organization with unlimited funds, D’Arnaud and Parnell have an outside chance of filling those two needs competently. I hope someone rises to the occasion in the CF/leadoff spot…the hardest one to fill. That’s what dreams are made of.
cross your fingers that Cowgill just needed his big opportunity to get some PT to show what he could do, and builds on his 200 ML PAs and runs with it.
I came up with another interesting comparable to Cowgil. Shane Victorino. Vicky actually did not do all that much in the minors. Some more steals than Cow, but less power. And he never did enough to get much respect, being a rule 5 guy 2 years in a row (SD took him 1st and returned him).
sometimes a guy with tools/skills kicks around a bit in the minors trying to get settled in the majors, and finally gets a shot at a real ML gig and makes the most of it.
Van,
I’m with you. Even though the suits left this team short once again, I will cross my fingers and root for the guys that are there to sieze the moment.
I like Tejada batting second or eighth, not lead off. I’m putting Kirk or Baxter first, Murphy, Wright, Davis, Buck, Duda, Bryd or Cowbell, Tejada, then the pitcher.
I think Davis and Duda will end up hitting back to back.
Tejada shouldn’t hit first.
What would Bobby V. do?
CThomp519 — I don’t think about Bobby V at this time. Terry C is doing a great job. He just might be back in 2014.
This just in:
@AdamRubinESPN
ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” reports alleged link between Mets prospect Cesar Puello, ex-Met Fernando Martinez and Biogenesis.
https://twitter.com/AdamRubinESPN/status/304043116854390785
not like it seemed to help them.
That line-up is downright horrible.
I know people love springtime optimism but there’s no offense here at all. Tejada leading off makes me want to vomit. Talk about an empty bat.
“Terry C is doing a great job”
On what planet? The guy has lost everywhere he’s been and with some damn good teams. With the Mets the team quit in late August two straight years. Terry Collins is an assclown and a thoroughly mediocre manager.
I agree with batting Nieuwenhuis leadoff and perhaps platoon him with Cowgil there
And for the reasons mentioned Tejada 2nd. But I would bat Murphy 3rd and back up Wright & Davis to 4&5. Murphy did not display much power last year. Ut showed he can hit for average and hit the gaps. You don’t need tp be a home run hitter to drive in runs from the 3 hole
I rember a guy named Keith Hernandez who some would say was the consummate #3 hitter. With men on base and Wright & Davis behind him Murphy would get lots of pitches to hit and as a result we probably would see more pop from his bat. Also the 5 hitter should be more of a power guy tham Murphy is. What good a .300 hitter with not much speed or power hitting behind Davis. I understand wanting to bat Wright 3rd but his skill set. Will play just as well hitting 4th. This also makes the batting a little deeper and plays to Murphy’s skill set better. Wright &Davis hitting 4th & 5th will still ne just as effective. Would you have batted Carter 3rd strawberry 4th and Keith 5th?
Lineup order is overrated IMO, but I’ve never really understood the fascination with making the lineup “deeper” when making it “deeper” is just pushing the better hitters further down in the lineup. Giving less AB to the better hitters generally isn’t a good thing.
All in all I don’t think it really matters all that much though, especially when you are talking about one spot in the order.
I don’t have much of a problem with the lineup posted – I think its one of several potential lineups to consider, but I disagree with some of the characterizations of the players. Murphy (followed by Tejada) actually had the highest overall swing rates, highest rate of swinging at pitches out of the zone, and lowest number of pitchers per plate appearance of any of the current regulars listed. So I wouldn’t call either of those guys overly patient or particularly skilled in working pitchers. That doesn’t mean they can’t learn to do that or that even given their current stills that they can’t fit in the particular spots in the lineup you have them slated, but to this point its not really true that they are big time patient hitters. Though they are among the best on the team at making contact when they do swing.
And Baxter was actually the second best OBP guy on the team last year. Though it was a relatively small sample and his first year so I’m not convinced on him.
Can anyone see Corey Patterson playing CF and leading off?
For the Mets? Nope. He’s not even in big league camp.
Daniel Murphy is not the Mets most patient hitter, nor is he anywhere close. He is one of their most impatient hitters. Actually, if you define patience as percentage of pitches swung at outside of the strike zone, believe it or not Jason Bay was the Mets most patient hitter last year at 20.2%.