Best Lineup - New York Mets

In my previous post I used my baseball simulator to look at the best lineup for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Up at the plate this time are the New York Mets who have David Wright and a few warm bodies. In this exercise I will use my simulator to play actual baseball games, in fact over 2 million games per lineup to find out which lineup is the most productive vs both a RHP and a LHP. Each lineup is compared in wins per 162 games against the default lineup from MLB Depth Charts. Player projection inputs come from Bill James.

Below are the results...

Default lineup from MLB Depth Charts.

1. Ruben Tejada
2. Daniel Murphy (L)
3. David Wright
4. Ike Davis (L)
5. Lucas Duda (L)
6. Mike Baxter (L) << Andrew Brown is platoon partner
7. John Buck
8. Kirk Nieuwenhuis (L) << Collin Cowgill is platoon partner
9. Pitchers Spot

Best Lineup vs RHP
1. Mike Baxter (L)
2. Daniel Murphy (L)
3. David Wright
4. Ike Davis (L)
5. Lucas Duda (L)
6. Kirk Nieuwenhuis
7. Ruben Tejada
8. Pitchers Spot
9. John Buck
Wins/162 Games Better Than Default Lineup: 2.46

Best Lineup vs LHP
1. Collin Cowgill (S)
2. Daniel Murphy (L)
3. Ike Davis (L)
4. David Wright
5. Andrew Brown
6. John Buck
7. Ruben Tejada
8. Pitchers Spot
9. Lucas Duda (L)
Wins/162 Games Better Than Default Lineup: 2.71

Skinny: Using the Bill James projections, Ruben Tejada should not bat near the top of the lineup because he does not get on base nearly enough. Both Mike Baxter and Collin Cowgill who are platoon players, seem to be the best fit as leadoff men (depending on the handedness of the pitcher). Batting Daniel Murphy second is a good choice and David Wright and Ike Davis batting 3rd and 4th (swapped) is the correct location in the lineup. Duda, who is best in the 5th spot against RHP, helps the team out the most as the 9th batter against left handed pitching. Andrew Brown sneaks up to the 5th spot in the lineup when he is in there against LHP.