MLB: Analyzing the Yankees Lineup

Bronx Baseball Daily

Mar 8, 2010

Let’s take a look at the potential for run scoring in this year’s version of the Yankees lineup. We’ve done this in the past, even a couple of times this offseason, but now that spring has started and we have a better idea of what their lineup will look like let’s do it again.

For this lineup projection I’ve used CHONE projections as well as Baseball Musings’ lineup analysis tool .

Here is the line the lineup I see the Yankees going with on opening day:

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Derek Jeter – SS
Nick Johnson – DH
Mark Teixeira – 1B
Alex Rodriguez – 3B
Robinson Cano – 2B
Jorge Posada – C
Curtis Granderson – CF
Nick Swisher – RF
Brett Gardner – LF

That puts Nick Johnson in the No. 2 spot where he is expected to be based on some comments by Joe Girardi. Robinson Cano is in the No. 5 spot as the bottom of the lineup is left-handed heavy so this allows them to split up the lefties. It's the same reason I have Granderson in the 7th spot and Swisher in the 8th spot. After A-Rod it will go L-S-L-S-L.

Anyways, this lineup projects to score 5.816 runs per game. Over 162 games that lineup would score 942 runs. Don’t expect them to score that many though because that just isn’t possible with injuries and such. But that is a better projection than any other team in the AL according to Tim Dierkes of Roto Authority (and MLB Trade Rumors).

Health is going to play a big part in the 2010 season. The AL East is stacked right now and on paper the Yankees project to be the best one of the bunch. That is if they stay healthy. But the same could be said of both Boston and Tampa.