DRaysBay · Jan 11, 2022
The Rays’ lineup had one notable weak point last season
In one of the most influential books in the field of advanced analytics in baseball The Book: Playing the Percentages written by Tom Tango, Mitchel Lichtman, and Andrew Dolphin, one of the topics covered was optimal lineup construction.
Your three best hitters should bat somewhere in the #1, #2, and #4 slots. Your fourth- and fifth-best hitters should occupy the #3 and #5 slots. The #1 and #2 slots will have players with more walks than those in the #4 and #5 slots. From slot #6 through #9, put the players in descending order of quality.
So how did the Rays deploy their lineup?
1st: .273/.361/.509 142 wRC+
2nd: .255/.330/.439 115 wRC+
3rd: .210/.299/.346 81 wRC+
4th: .276/.352/.481 131 wRC+