Top lineups in MLB 2020

This unusual situation we’re all navigating has temporarily taken away our ability to watch baseball games … but it hasn’t taken away our ability to analyze and argue about baseball! So let’s move forward with our annual lists of MLB’s top 10 lineups, rotations and bullpens.

For this lineup list, one stat I’ll cite frequently is weighted runs created plus (wRC+). This quantifies run production with important external factors (ballparks and the offensive environment) taken into account, with 100 being the league average -- so a 120 wRC+ is 20 percent better than league average, while an 80 is 20% worse.

This is important to note, because a team like the Rockies will always rate well in terms of runs scored (ninth in MLB last year), but didn’t rate nearly as well in wRC+ (26th). The context matters. (You can read all about this in my forthcoming book, “A Fan’s Guide to Baseball Analytics.”)

With that in mind, these are the 10 lineups that I think would fare best, regardless of environment, in 2020. As always, these are subject to change … and argument.

1 -- Dodgers

The focus is understandably on the MVPs in the leadoff and cleanup spots, but don’t lose sight of the overall complexion here. No. 2 hitter Muncy has 70 homers and a .927 OPS over the last two seasons, and Turner (No. 3) has posted wRC+ marks anywhere from 123 (above-average) to 158 (excellent) in each of the last six seasons. You’ve got Seager -- a 2016 National League MVP finalist finally entering a season healthy -- lurking in the No. 6 spot. And don’t sleep on Lux, who has one of the highest-rated hit tools of any prospect in the game.

Elsewhere, the Dodgers mix and match a lot from their bloated bench to gain the matchup edge within games. An NL team will inherently not have quite as much firepower as an American League unit while punting away opportunities in the No. 9 spot, but the devastatingly deep Dodgers could hold their own in either league.

2 -- Twins

It would be naive to expect the Twins, as a group, to duplicate their rate of production from 2019, when they set a team home run record. But the addition of Donaldson helps stave off potential regression. Granted, Donaldson is 34 and Cruz is 39, so the Twins are banking on age not catching up to them. And if defense was considered in this conversation, the Twins wouldn’t rank this high.

But you can’t get any deeper than this: Every single member of the Twins’ starting nine is projected by Steamer (available at FanGraphs.com) to log at least 350 plate appearance and post a wRC+ mark that is better than the league average. No other team can say that. And utility man Marwin Gonzalez gives the Twins 10 such players.

3 -- Astros

Whenever this thing starts back up, the Astros will still be seen as the enemy to a bevy of baseball fans. The mental side of this sport is never to be underestimated, and it’s anybody’s guess how they’ll handle that public scrutiny. So the Astros, despite leading MLB in wRC+ last year, get dinged a couple spots here because of the sheer unknown associated with their highly unusual situation.

On paper, though, Houston obviously retains one of the deepest and most balanced lineups in MLB, with both patience and power and an argument to be No. 1 on this list. A full season of Alvarez, who had a historic rookie year after arriving in June, provides added upside, as does the possibility that Kyle Tucker blossoms and begins to assert himself in right field.

4 -- Yankees

This delay buys time for Judge (stress fracture of right rib) and Stanton (right calf strain) to get healthy, so I’ll pencil them in here -- though the durability of both big sluggers is certainly an open question. Aaron Hicks (Tommy John surgery) could also be back in June.

The Yankees have the depth to handle adversity, as we saw in 2019 when LeMahieu (136 wRC+), Urshela (132), Tauchman (128) and Voit (126) took on unexpectedly prominent roles. Whether those guys can deliver similar results in a new season is an unknown, but it seems reasonable to suspect that Torres’ star is just beginning to shine after he posted a 125 wRC+ in 604 plate appearances at age 22. Even when battling injuries last year, Sánchez (116) put up particularly positive production for his position, and Miguel Andújar’s return from shoulder surgery makes him an interesting option at multiple spots.

5 -- A's

The A's essentially return the group that posted the fifth-highest team wRC+ mark (107) in baseball last season. It’s an underrated cast, as tends to be the case in Oakland.

Even though second base is a question, this is an all-world infield in which Semien (third) and Olson (sixth) ranked in the top 10 among qualifiers at their position in wRC+ last season, while Chapman was 12th. Davis returning to his homer rate of old -- he hit north of 40 from 2016-18 -- after a down year would augment the effort. Laureano is so-far known mostly for his unbelievable arm, but he had a .358/.411/.679 slash in 125 plate appearances in the second half and upped his launch angle last season, leading to a jump in homers.

6 -- Mets

For the first time in a long time, there’s as much reason to be intrigued and optimistic about the Mets’ offense as their starting staff. That’s a credit to Alonso coming off a rookie season for the ages (Major League-leading 53 homers), McNeil coming off All-Star output of his own (.318/.384/.531 slash), Conforto coming off his best full season (33 homers, 29 doubles), Davis proving a revelatory pickup (.895 OPS, 45 extra-base hits) and Rosario putting up a strong second half (.319 average, .351 OBP), among other factors.

Imagine if Nimmo can get back to his 2018 level of production, when he had a 148 wRC+ that ranked fifth among qualified outfielders in MLB and/or if Canó turns back the clock. Hey, maybe they’ll even get something out of Yoenis Céspedes, too.

7 -- White Sox

There is danger in: A) Assuming a new-look lineup will congeal as hoped and B) Assuming a bunch of youngsters will assert themselves all at once. But what the heck? Let’s do both of those things with a White Sox team that has seven guys projected by Steamer to post wRC+ marks above league average with at least 500 plate appearances apiece – Encarnación (123), Jiménez (122), Grandal (119), Abreu (117), Moncada (116), Robert (111) and Mazara (106).

That list doesn’t even include Anderson, who had a .335/.357/.508 slash and 130 wRC+ in a breakthrough 2019, or Nick Madrigal, who is one of the best pure-hitting prospects in MLB (ranked No. 40 overall by MLB Pipeline) and is knocking on the door at second base.

8 -- Cubs

Hey, the gang’s still here. Until or unless the Cubs actually do trade one of their big offensive pieces, they retain the makings of a really stout lineup. Granted, it’s a lineup that has arguably underachieved the last two seasons. But even in the course of underachieving, it has managed to post the ninth-highest wRC+ in baseball over the last two years (tying for ninth in 2019). It will be interesting to see how or if Bryant’s move to leadoff impacts things, because the .677 OPS the Cubbies got from that spot last year really hampered their offense.

Two X-factors for this team are Steven Souza Jr., who was limited by injury to just 72 games total the last two years but could share right field with Heyward, and Nico Hoerner, the Cubs’ No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline. Hoerner’s a high-contact bat with good speed who could be getting the second-base at-bats before long.

9 -- Red Sox

Hey, the gang’s… not all here. But the departure of Betts doesn’t stop the Boston bunch from posing a threat because of the nucleus of Martinez (142 projected wRC+, via Steamer), Devers (129) and Bogaerts (124). Devers and Bogaerts both ranked in the top four in the Majors in extra-base hits last season. Vázquez emerged as one of MLB’s more productive catchers last year.

That’s not to say there aren’t questions elsewhere. To ultimately justify this spot on this list, the Red Sox will need to get positive production from Verdugo (projected for a 119 wRC+). That’s an iffy proposition given that he arrived while recovering from a stress fracture in his back.

10 -- Angels

That Trout-Ohtani-Rendon grouping looks pretty tremendous, and it would look even better if we knew Ohtani was going to hit every day -- having him as a stud pitcher once a week is a pretty good trade-off, though. All three of those guys are projected for a wRC+ north of 130 (Trout, of course, is in another stratosphere at 173).

A bounce-back year for Upton after an injury riddled 2019 would add a lot of meat to the middle of the order. La Stella’s the only other Angel projected to be above average offensively, but none of us can know what this team will get from toolsy prospect Jo Adell (No. 6 prospect in MLB, per MLB Pipeline), who has serious star potential and is coming soon to right field.

Honorable mention -- Blue Jays

Look, the Braves boast Ronald Acuna Jr. and Freddie Freeman and brought in Marcell Ozuna after Donaldson departed. The Indians have Francisco Lindor and José Ramirez and potential 40-homer power from Franmil Reyes. The Nats have one of the game’s great young hitters in Juan Soto. The Padres have a nice speed and power blend fronted by Fernando Tatis Jr. The Reds are coming off an aggressive offseason that included the additions of Nick Castellanos and Mike Moustakas. The Rays are better-equipped offensively than many might realize.

The point is: A lot of teams have an interesting argument to be on this list if this or that breaks right, and if its stars play like stars.

But I can’t help but wonder if a Toronto team with all kinds of upside in Guerrero Jr., Bichette, Biggio and Gurriel Jr. is about to pop. All four of those guys are 26 or younger -- in fact, the Blue Jays’ average age for their projected lineup is 26 -- and all four showed spectacular flashes in 2019. I think there’s a decent chance I look back at this list at year’s end and wish I had put the blossoming Blue Jays on it.

Ranking the top 10 lineups in MLB for 2020