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Neil Walker batting second is the right move for Pirates lineup
Neil Walker spent most of the young 2015 season batting somewhere below Andrew McCutchen in the Pittsburgh Pirates every day lineup. With Josh Harrison‘s struggles and Gregory Polanco‘s forward strides, there is now a seismic shift in the Pirates batting order that will likely see Walker staying in the second slot in the order for the foreseeable future.
Finding the right combination of hitters is one of the few visible areas in which a manager can truly affect the game. Clint Hurdle may have just solved one of the biggest problems for the 2015 Pirates in one stroke. With Harrison, who many believed does not profile as a lead-off hitter to begin with, scuffling mighty at the plate, Hurdle recognized the need to shake things up. Now, the Pirates have great speed at the very top of the order in Polanco and one of their best RBI guys right behind him with a perennial MVP candidate following him.
After last night’s rousing 7-2 win over the Reds, in which the top three of the Pirates’ order went 6-for-10 and got on base 11 times, I started to wonder if this new lineup may not just be in place until Harrison hits his way out of his slump. Should Walker continue to bat second regardless of what Harrison does? I believe that he should.
Consider Neil Walker’s career splits by batting order.
| I | Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batting 1st | 4 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .125 | .300 | .125 | .425 | |
| Batting 2nd | 213 | 920 | 834 | 117 | 230 | 57 | 4 | 31 | 109 | 61 | 163 | .276 | .335 | .465 | .800 | |
| Batting 3rd | 118 | 516 | 465 | 54 | 135 | 27 | 4 | 11 | 74 | 40 | 86 | .290 | .351 | .437 | .788 | |
| Batting 4th | 157 | 656 | 593 | 78 | 153 | 32 | 4 | 17 | 84 | 52 | 113 | .258 | .319 | .411 | .730 | |
| Batting 5th | 132 | 547 | 472 | 69 | 137 | 25 | 2 | 11 | 66 | 57 | 87 | .290 | .371 | .422 | .792 | |
| Batting 6th | 37 | 144 | 131 | 16 | 35 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 19 | 10 | 26 | .267 | .324 | .458 | .782 | |
| Batting 7th | 28 | 103 | 88 | 10 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 19 | .216 | .310 | .295 | .605 | |
| Batting 8th | 8 | 23 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | .250 | .478 | .250 | .728 | |
| Batting 9th | 16 | 15 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .077 | .200 | .154 | .354 |
Walker’s slash of .276/.335/.465 would be underwhelming if not for that slugging percentage to go along with 31 home runs, by far his most from any position in the order. Now, with Polanco on pace for an impressive number of stolen bags this year, Walker in the 2-hole will see many RBI chances with excellent protection behind him, provided that McCutchen reverts to McCutchen sooner rather than later. Crafting the perfect lineup in baseball is all about maximizing protections, and Walker will receive none better in the two-hole.
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The most compelling argument I can make for keeping Walker batting second in the order is this: his career strikeouts rate when batting second is 17.8%, below the league average for hitters. It’s clear the added protection agrees with him. To cement my argument, I can then point to the L-S-R combination that pitchers will be forced to deal with right out of the bat every time the top of the order comes up. Later on down the order, Starling Marte and Pedro Alvarez can also benefit, Marte by having a legitimate home run threat behind him and Alvarez with a (hopefully) resurgent Harrison drawing walks and doing Harrison things behind him.
The number two hitter’s role in baseball has been steadily evolving over the past decade. No longer seen as a mechanical spot utilized mainly to move runners or setup the batter behind him, the number two spot in the order is seen now as a run producer more than ever, as well as an effective way to help a hitter break out of a slump.
It’s only been a few games, but the number two spot seems to agree with Neil Walker.