Ultimate Lineup: American League

With the baseball season underway we have decided to make our ultimate lineups for each league. Nick decided to take the National League so I made a lineup for the American league. One player at each position was chosen from the position they are listen on their depth chart. Also no injury history was taken into consideration as you will see a few guys on my list that would not have made it if this were the case.

 

Catcher – Salvador Perez

First – Miguel Cabrera

Second – Robinson Cano

Third – Adrian Beltre

Short – Jose Reyes

Left – Alex Gordon

Center – Mike Trout

Right – Jose Bautista

DH – David Ortiz

P – Yu Darvish

Set-up – Luke Gregerson

Closer – Greg Holland

 

1.      Jose Reyes (S)

2.      Mike Trout (R)

3.      Miguel Cabrera (R)

4.      David Ortiz (L)

5.      Adrian Beltre (R)

6.      Robinson Cano (L)

7.      Jose Bautista (R)

8.      Salvador Perez (R)

9.      Alex Gordon (L)

 

At the top of my line up is Jose Reyes. When he is on the field he one of the most dynamic players. He should score plenty of runs in this lineup with his plus speed.

Hitting in the two hole I have Mike Trout. I really wanted to leave him off this list but I couldn’t even think of a BS argument against him. He is one of the best players in baseball at the moment. I would love to see him go 20/50 in the two hole rather than 30/30 but I will take any production he wants to give me.

I was watching a game once and I believe the Cards were playing and someone asked Tony La Russa why he didn’t hit Pujols 4^th and his response was that he wanted to force pitchers to throw to him in the first inning. I thought this was great and that’s why the best hitter on the planet is hitting third in my lineup. Miguel Cabrera puts up huge numbers and in his real lineup I expect him to compete for the Triple Crown again this year.

I struggled with the forth spot in my lineup. It was between David Ortiz and Robinson Cano. If this were three years ago when Ortiz was striking out a lot and hitting for a lower average I would have swapped him and Cano in a second but he seems to be getting better with age and no one is better when you need a clutch hit than Big Papi.

Adrian Beltre gets the call to hit fifth mainly to break up the lefties Ortiz and Cano. I don’t want a lefty coming in late in the game and being able to throw to both of them.

Again Cano could be hitting forth in this lineup but I have him slotted sixth. He has one of the prettiest swings in baseball and honestly could hit anywhere in any lineup. Second base is a weak position but he is one of the best overall players at any position.

Hitting seventh is another guy that needs to stay healthy. When Joey Bats is on the field he has 50+ bomb power. He will fit perfectly in the bottom third of the lineup where even if there isn’t anyone on base he has a chance to drive in a run.

Salvador Perez makes the team with his defense. He is one of the best defensive catchers in baseball and his bat is coming around. He should hit for more power as he gets older and he puts the ball in play a lot.

Hitting ninth is Alex Gordon. He came up as a third baseman with a lot of promise but never really lived up to it. He moved to left field and was almost forgotten about but after a few good years in left and a gold glove he makes the American League ultimate lineup. He will play great defense and with a stacked lineup and offense production he gives is a bonus.

            Pitching for the American League team is of course Yu Darvish. I remember watching him when he was an 18 year old kid in Japan and people crowned him the best pitcher in the world. He didn’t get much exposure in America to the average fan but now that he is here everyone knows him. He led the league in strikeouts and should do the same this year even after missing his first start.

            My setup man is Luke Gregerson. There were plenty of guys that could have gone into this spot but Gregerson has had a wonderful career so far averaging more than a strikeout per inning. He should have no problem getting the ball to the closer for the American League ultimate team.

            The closer is……Can I just pick Mariano Rivera? Alright since Mo has retired we will go with Greg Holland. I know ever Red Sox fan is screaming at this point because I didn’t put Uehara on the squad. Well deal with it he will get lit up this year and Holland will continue to dominate.