West TX Hawk":2zpokg6s said:
Hawkscanner":2zpokg6s said:
When Segura comes back, things will sure get interesting with the lineup (that's for sure). I mean, check it out these stats ...
With last night's performance, Mike Zunino is now hitting .385 with 8 HR's ... a .431 OBP ... and .885 SLG% for the month of June.
Danny Valencia has a .297 batting average with a .807 OPS for the month of June.
Jarrod Dyson has a .342 batting average with a .842 OPS since 5/23.
And now you add Segura back into that mix -- a guy who on the year has a .341 batting average and an .852 OPS. He's been batting lead-off all year (of course), but I mean, do you REALLY want to mess with Ben Gamel and take him out of that spot?
Ben Gamel (for the month of June) has an incredible .403 batting average ... with a .915 OPS.
The problem for me with Gamel in the leadoff spot is that traditionally, the classic leadoff hitter is a guy who has some speed and can steal you some bases. He sets the table for everyone else. That's not really Gamel's game. That's far more Segura -- who has both speed and power. I'd LOVE to take advantage of Gamel's bat ... AND to also Mike Zunino and the kind of hitting he's been displaying lately, so was wondering -- how about this kind of lineup?
1] Segura (R)
2] Hanniger (R)
3] Cano (R)
4] Cruz (R)
5] Seager (L)
6] Zunino (R)
7] Dyson (L)
8] Valencia (R)
9] Gamel (L)
Why drop Gamel all the way to the #9 hole? Well ... this is an idea that's been played with before. Instead of thinking of him as the #9 hitter -- the last hitter in the lineup -- think of him rather as a 2nd leadoff hitter. Gamel gets protection with Segura hitting right in front of him ... and Valencia gets better pitches to hit with Gamel right in front of him. Zunino in the 6th hole means that Seager probably see better pitches to hit. AND ... this lineup gives you more of that Right Handed Hitter ... followed by Left Handed Hitter ... followed by Right Hitter ... etc. that you'd ideally like to see.
Segura coming back is a real nice problem to have. It'll be really interesting to see what the M's choose to do.
Some interesting ideas and nice analysis Hawkscanner. I agree with you on moving up Zunino to 6th but with Gamel you need to keep him 1st or 2nd. I understand your argument but If he bats 9th he gets just 3 ABs a game instead of 4. Our top hitters simply need 4 ABs a game. The bottom of our lineup has improved to the point there are few weaknesses and you can't really pitch around anybody when Segura is back.
Alright, I get what you're saying ... and agree that ideally you'd like to get Gamel as many AB's as possible -- especially given how much he's getting on base. Just thinking out loud here ... given that, what about this kind of a tweak then?
1] Segura (R)
2] Gamel (L)
3] Cano (R)
4] Cruz (R)
5] Seager (L)
6] Zunino (R)
7] Haniger (R)
8] Valencia (R)
9] Dyson (L)
You lose a little bit of the Right, Left, Right, Left, etc. thing ... BUT, with this lineup, you could potentially take advantage of Dyson's speed (he has 17 SB's this season) as that 2nd Leadoff guy. Dyson would certainly get better pitches to hit with Segura right behind him. AND you give protection to Zunino with Haniger in the 7th hole right behind him. Like Bobblehead is saying, I'm a bit squeamish over the idea of moving Haniger out of the #2 spot as well ... BUT, I honestly see him as a star in the making and think that he'd handle it well. Thoughts?
