Yesterday we discussed who might make the Pirates regular lineup against LHP opening day. However, we didn't include what the order might be for said lineup.
The article to yesterday's article is linked, What Might the Bucs Lineup Look Like Against LHP
The players who we discussed will be in the lineup include:
- Nick Gonzales
- Tommy Pham
- Joey Bart
- Ke'Bryan Hayes
- Andrew McCutchen
- Bryan Reynolds
- Oneil Cruz
- IKF
- Billy Cook
The best lineups in the league have 5 good hitters at the top of the lineup, with the remaining 4 being solid complements. The Bucs might have that scenario on their hands.
Nick Gonzales, Joey Bart, and Ke'Bryan Hayes were actually good against LHP last year with Joey Bart being elite. I think the Bucs should count on McCutchen and Reynolds to rebound against LHP to be included in the top 5.
Reynolds desires lineup consistency and he is likely to hit second against RHP again this season, so I expect him to bat second against LHP as well. The best overall hitter against LHP last year was Joey Bart so I would bat Bart 4th and build the lineup around him and Reynolds. Both Bart and Reynolds are great fastball hitters while they struggle with break including the slider and curveball.
Gonzales hits the slider well against LHP while Hayes hits the curveball well. I'd put Gonzales 3rd in between Reynolds and Bart, and bat Hayes behind Bart. McCutchen would lead off with a high OBP and also with the ability to hit the curve and fastballs. This order should prevent the pitcher from finding a groove being able to throw just a couple of different pitch types to get through the top of the order.
I'd bat IKF last because I expect him to have the worst overall numbers against LHP while he still has some of the best ability to square up the ball and might be able to knock in Runs left on base from higher in the order. Besides Nicky-G, Cruz is the only other hitter in this lineup that hits sliders well so he should bat behind Hayes who hits one of his weaknesses well, the curveball.
That leaves Pham and Cook to bat 7 or 8. Both Pham and Cook hit the fastball well. In AAA Cook didn't have a strong weakness against any pitch type. Pham struggles against the slider, so I would bat Pham behind Cruz at 7th, and Cook at 8th. Another advantage of this lineup is that leaves two veteran hitters batting around the Rookie Cook. The vets being Pham and IKF. The longest time vet, Andrew McCutchen is batting in front of Reynolds and has had success during his time batting leadoff since coming back to the Buccos.
That leaves the lineup as so.
- Andrew McCutchen
- Bryan Reynolds
- Nick Gonzales
- Joey Bart
- Ke'Bryan Hayes
- Oneil Cruz
- Tommy Pham
- Billy Cook
- IKF