What is our best possible infield configuration as of today?

[Sanfran327]

There are lots of threads about individual players/infielders right now, so I didn't want to clog up one of those discussions about something that really relates to the whole group. 

With Gunnar heating up and Mateo going full iceburg on us, what is our best possible infield configuration as of right now? Urias looks like he could be back pretty soon, and I think Westburg deserves to be in this conversation as well. So the question is, what is your preferred lineup (or lineups if you prefer to make a distinction between LH and RH SPs)? Looks like the pool is:

Fraizer
Gunnar
Mateo
Mountcastle
O'Hearn
Ortiz
Santander
Urias
Vavra
Westburg

Against LHPs, I like Urias, Mateo, Ortiz, and Mountcastle. 

Against RHPs, I'd be tempted to roll out Urias, Gunnar, Fraizer, and Santander or O'Hearn. Ideally, that would also put Cowser's LH bat in the lineup at RF, but that's another topic. 

Mateo made it difficult to see early on, but things like this have a way of working themselves out. Regardless, we will pretty much always have strong infield defense and a strong bench, which Hyde has shown that he's not afraid to dip into early and often so far this year.

Edited May 25, 2023 by Sanfran327
spelling

[Hank Scorpio]

Vs. Lefties

Urias 3B

Ortiz SS

Frazier 2B

Mountcastle 1B

Vs. Righties

Henderson 3B

Ortiz SS

Frazier 2B

O'Hearn 1B

[TommyPickles]

Splits: OPS

Gunnar Henderson : .816 against RHP vs. .442 against LHP

Ramon Urias: .786 against RHP vs. .719 against LHP

Jorge Mateo: .659 against RHP vs. .790 against LHP

Joey Ortiz: .273 against RHP vs. .728 against LHP

Adam Frazier: .771 against RHP vs. .746 against LHP

Ryan Mountcastle: .572 against RHP vs. 1.082 against LHP

Ryan O'Hearn: .915 against RHP vs. .000 against LHP (2 ABs)

Anthony Santander: .736 against RHP vs. .960 against LHP

 

If it's a one-game, do-or-die situation right now. I'm going:

Against a RHP:

1B- Santander, 2B- Frazier, SS- Gunnar, 3B- Urias

Against a LHP:

1B- Mountcastle, 2B- Frazier, SS- Mateo, 3B- Ortiz

 

Though, I expect this to change as the season goes on. 

Edited May 25, 2023 by TommyPickles

[Aristotelian]

34 minutes ago, Hank Scorpio said:

Vs. Lefties

Urias 3B

Ortiz SS

Frazier 2B

Mountcastle 1B

Vs. Righties

Henderson 3B

Ortiz SS

Frazier 2B

O'Hearn 1B

What about Mateo vs LHP?

I like the left/right stack, but do we have the ability to carry all these guys on the roster when Urias comes back? We could get rid of Vavra, but then Santander goes back in RF and I'm not sure what that does to our DH situation, and then there is no room for Cowser.

I also think O'Hearn as the strong side of a platoon with Mountcastle is pretty risky. We really don't know if he is better even against RHP (he is definitely worse vs LHP). Is that marginal gain vs RHP worth a roster spot? 

I think ultimately we will want to replace Vavra with Cowser and O'Hearn with Urias, even if it doesn't happen immediately. We might then live with Mountcastle vs RHP since Cowser will give us an extra LHB in the OF/DH group. 

[Hank Scorpio]

2 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

What about Mateo vs LHP?

I like the left/right stack, but do we have the ability to carry all these guys on the roster when Urias comes back? We could get rid of Vavra, but then Santander goes back in RF and I'm not sure what that does to our DH situation, and then there is no room for Cowser.

I also think O'Hearn as the strong side of a platoon with Mountcastle is pretty risky. We really don't know if he is better even against RHP (he is definitely worse vs LHP). Is that marginal gain vs RHP worth a roster spot? 

I think ultimately we will want to replace Vavra with Cowser and O'Hearn with Urias, even if it doesn't happen immediately. We might then live with Mountcastle vs RHP since Cowser will give us an extra LHB in the OF/DH group. 

I am not a believer in Mateo against, well, anyone. His career splits suggest he isn't a good hitter regardless of who's pitching. 

[Hank Scorpio]

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.fcgi?id=mateojo01&year=Career&t=b

[DirtyBird]

4 Adam Fraziers

[Sports Guy]

Kjerstad, Westburg, Ortiz and Henderson

[Pickles]

1 minute ago, Sports Guy said:

Kjerstad, Westburg, Ortiz and Henderson

Now you're just trolling.

[Pickles]

Ryan Mountcastle should not be getting as many at-bats as he is.  Of all the moving parts of the IF, that is the thing I feel strongest about right now.

[Sports Guy]

Just now, Pickles said:

Now you're just trolling.

Lol..actually, I think there’s a decent chance that is our best starting IF by the end of the year…depends on how Kjerstad handles first and adjusts to AAA pitching.

I could see the other 3 spots being the best as soon as Frazier cools off, which will happen soon.

[Sports Guy]

2 minutes ago, Pickles said:

Ryan Mountcastle should not be getting as many at-bats as he is.  Of all the moving parts of the IF, that is the thing I feel strongest about right now.

I wonder if Urias should get regular at bats at first?  I think that’s something they need to look into. 

And btw, I am defining regular as 1-3 games a week. 

Edited May 25, 2023 by Sports Guy

[Pickles]

1 minute ago, Sports Guy said:

Lol..actually, I think there’s a decent chance that is our best starting IF by the end of the year…depends on how Kjerstad handles first and adjusts to AAA pitching.

I could see the other 3 spots being the best as soon as Frazier cools off, which will happen soon.

If he's healthy, there's very little argument against Urias being on the field.

[Pickles]

1 minute ago, Sports Guy said:

I wonder if Urias should get regular at bats at first?  I think that’s something they need to look into. 

And btw, I am defining regular as 1-3 games a week. 

That and Santander getting 1b abs vs. RHP makes a lot of sense.

[Sports Guy]

2 minutes ago, Pickles said:

If he's healthy, there's very little argument against Urias being on the field.

If what I said was the starting IF, I still would find the at bats for him. As I have been saying, we don’t have any 155 game/600 at bats guys yet. Maybe they will develop into it but not yet.  
 

So, there are at bats to go around for sure.  Ultimately, I agree with you that we must find at bats for Urias.