Back to Baseball - give me your lineup

[Todd4State]

Whereas I was once optimistic that our problem was too many hitters, the reality is looking more like we have too many guys that are the same hitter and they all play 3B or COF. I'm not sure there is really that much difference in Brown, Vickerson, Smith in the OF and Spruill, Reynolds, Gridley, Holland in the IF with Britton the weakest hitter and has honestly probably about played himself out of the conversation. Rooker and Humphries give you some power potential in the COF/DH spot but you lose some plate discipline, speed and defense.

On the IF guys I'm also not sure how to rate them all defensively.

Gridley has earned the PT until he loses it in my book. Humpreys is the guy we need to become an xbh threat and run producer so I'd give him a few more weeks to earn/lose that spot. To me he DH's unless you want to get Rooker's bat in there (assuming he's worth than Hump defensively). and if we keep never hitting XBH then we need to roll the dice with Rooker. Right now I'd give Holland, Smith and Brown most of the other PT

vs RH:

Robson
Heck
Collins
Humphreys
Brown
Rea
Holland
Smith
Gridley

vs LH

Gridley
Heck
Collins
Humphreys
Rooker
Smith
Rea
Holland/Spruill/Britton
Robson (if robson looks terrible vs LH maybe Smith could play CF)

Power hitters typically strike out more than contact hitters/speed guys in general. The power hitters that don't strike out a lot are usually going to end up in Cooperstown barring steroid use. Now, in a perfect world you would have legit all five tool guys. But that's not even a reality in MLB, much less the SEC.

And no, I'm not advocating against power hitting- I'm just saying that those guys are going to strike out some and to expect it, but the trade off is going to in the form of home runs and extra base hits. So, it's worth it in the long run depending on the overall production of the player.

Really the only hole in the lineup I see is at third base.

C- Worst case scenario is Lovelady, and he has been a pleasant surprise so far.
1B- Rea has done pretty well- with 9 BB's and 1 K.
2B/3B- Gridley is hitting very well and will be a freshman player of the year candidate.
SS- Heck is hitting well- almost .400
LF- Humphreys will be fine.
CF- Robson is hitting over .400
RF- If Smith can't come back, Vickerson is doing well.
DH- Rooker needs to play more and leads the team in home runs.

[JohnnyQuid]

Robson
Gridley
Rea
Collins
Humphreys
Heck
Vickerson
Holland
Smith (Kinda a 9-1 guy- dont know enough about him yep but hoping- this is assuming he is who we thought he'll be)

I dont do all this left right bullshit. I think with robsons speed and bat control he belongs at top of the order much more than mid (how many times u see a cleanup guy bunting for basehit) IMO this protects the middle of ur order and the bottom end isnt too bad. It's a decent mix of l/r althought a bit right heavy. A good hitter is gonna hit IMO, give em a chance.

[msstate7]

Robson
Gridley
Rea
Collins
Humphreys
Heck
Vickerson
Holland
Smith (Kinda a 9-1 guy- dont know enough about him yep but hoping- this is assuming he is who we thought he'll be)

I dont do all this left right bullshit. I think with robsons speed and bat control he belongs at top of the order much more than mid (how many times u see a cleanup guy bunting for basehit) IMO this protects the middle of ur order and the bottom end isnt too bad. It's a decent mix of l/r althought a bit right heavy. A good hitter is gonna hit IMO, give em a chance.

The problem with not doing the R-L thing is it makes it really easy for opposing coaches in the middle to late innings concerning bullpen.

[I seen it dawg]

Heck
Robson
Collins
Hump
Rea
Vick
Rooker
Holland
Gridley

There are guys I'd like to see in the lineup (Smith) but the OP was based on what we've seen so far.

[chef dixon]

I think you gotta have Brown in the line up. Everyone is high on Smith but he will need to prove his worth... a first AB double goes a long way in the fan's eyes.

[chef dixon]

Also really impressed with Rea so far this year. 10 walks, 1 K. The guy is seeing the ball far better than I thought he would.

[Irondawg]

Just given our problems scoring runs the idea of having Rooker and Humphreys in the lineup is appealing as with collins and rea it gives us at least 4 guys capable of getting XBH somewhat regularly.

[Political Hack]

Heck SS
Collins C
Smith RF
Humphreys DH
Rooker LF
Holland 2B
Rea 1B
Gridley 3B
Robson CF

THAT is the MF lineup.

It's good. I'd move Robson up to get him more ABs and any lineup without Brown is missing something IMO. Kid makes plays. Also, I'd have Rea almost as a default 5 hole hitter at this point. He's good enough to protect the bat in front of him, but he just doesn't have the lumber to be a cleanup guy.

[Coach34]

1. Heck
2. Robson
3. Collins
4. Rea
5. Rooker
6. Smith
7. Holland
8. Lovelady
9. Gridley

[War Machine Dawg]

1. Heck
2. Robson
3. Collins
4. Rea
5. Rooker
6. Smith
7. Holland
8. Lovelady
9. Gridley

What's your beef with Hump? He's clearly one of out best 9 hitters.

[SouthMsDawg]

Im still curious to see why so many people think that Smith is going to be an everyday guy? Vickerson and Cody Brown have been very solid so far and are experienced.

[SouthMsDawg]

What's your beef with Hump? He's clearly one of out best 9 hitters.

Hump has hit the ball well often this year just had some bad luck with balls getting to the warning track or outfielders making diving or running catches.

[Coach34]

What's your beef with Hump? He's clearly one of out best 9 hitters.

He's hitting .240 against sub-par pitching- and leads the team in strikeouts. Thats not going to improve once SEC pitching starts flying at him

[preachermatt83]

I think you gotta have Brown in the line up. Everyone is high on Smith but he will need to prove his worth... a first AB double goes a long way in the fan's eyes.

YES!!!!!!!!!!

[preachermatt83]

Im still curious to see why so many people think that Smith is going to be an everyday guy? Vickerson and Cody Brown have been very solid so far and are experienced.

amen!

[I seen it dawg]

It's good. I'd move Robson up to get him more ABs and any lineup without Brown is missing something IMO. Kid makes plays. Also, I'd have Rea almost as a default 5 hole hitter at this point. He's good enough to protect the bat in front of him, but he just doesn't have the lumber to be a cleanup guy.

Basically my lineup. I'd rather Brown play over Vick as I'm not a fan but he is hitting right now.

[smootness]

I think you gotta have Brown in the line up. Everyone is high on Smith but he will need to prove his worth... a first AB double goes a long way in the fan's eyes.

It's not about that double for me, it's about what Cohen has said about him. Cohen likes to point out certain guys, and he usually ends up being right. It's why I'm so high on both Smith and Humphreys.

There will be some interesting decisions that have to be made, though, because we have guys who are performing well that are competing with guys who have more long-term potential. So do you take a few possible lumps early with the hopes their talent eventually shows and they tear it up? Or do you go with the hot hand at the risk of not allowing those guys the experience to get better and reach their potential?

I'm specifically thinking of guys like Humphreys and Smith vs. guys like Vickerson and Brown.

[Smitty]

Robson is not a top of the order SEC hitter, IMO... Him and Gridley make a nice 8-9 rounding out the lineup of solid HITTERS in my lineup

[Todd4State]

Im still curious to see why so many people think that Smith is going to be an everyday guy? Vickerson and Cody Brown have been very solid so far and are experienced.

Smith was our best hitter in the spring right before the season starts. He hits a double and then pulls his quad or whatever.

[Tbonewannabe]

I'm much more willing to give the guy who's been an elite player at every level a chance to win the job and work his way out of it than I am to hand it over to a freshman who's looked like garbage so far. You'd rather go with the unknown quantity. Yeah, Holland's struggling. But his track record says he'll figure it out and be a serious baller.

If he doesn't work, I'd go with Britton. Sure, we sacrifice offense with him. But he's by far the best defensive option. Or maybe we could do what makes the most sense of all - try Hump at 3B. He was recruited as a 3B, if memory serves. Then you free up LF for Rooker/Brown/Vickerson, getting more of your best hitters into the lineup.

I am not a numbers guru like some folks but hasn't Britton been the worst at 3rd in hitting and defense? Seems like someone posted some stats about his fielding being not as good as thought. The guy does make some great plays at the corner though.