LA Sports Hub
Fansided

Los Angeles Dodgers: How to structure the lineup with Mookie Betts

By Jason Reed

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 28: Mookie Betts #50 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates his sixth inning home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Five of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 28, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 28: Mookie Betts #50 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates his sixth inning home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Five of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 28, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next
(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Dodgers
(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Dodgers /

Against southpaws:

  1. Mookie Betts, RF
  2. Justin Turner, 3B
  3. Cody Bellinger, CF
  4. A.J. Pollock, LF
  5. Max Muncy, 1B
  6. Will Smith, C
  7. Corey Seager, SS
  8. Enrique Hernandez, 2B
  9. Pitcher

Personally, I am a massive fan of Gavin Lux and would love to see him play every day. However, the Dodgers have so many guys that need to get innings to stay in the groove of things and it will be helpful to not start Lux every single day. So while I could see Lux being an everyday guy by August, Enrique Hernandez should start at second against southpaws.

More from LA Sports Hub

We also see Mookie Betts slotting back into the lead-off spot in this situation. Yes, I know, I just raved about Muncy’s on-base percentage and ability to work counts, but hs left-handed bat, against a southpaw, is more useful in the fifth spot of the order between two right-handed bats.

Betts actually had reverse splits last year but he is still well-above average against southpaws.

I would also like to see Cody Bellinger hit in the first inning against southpaws. As bad as he was during the postseason, Pollock is really good against left-handed pitching and the Dodgers should absolutely put him in a run-producing spot. Having Betts, Turner and Bellinger start the game will give him first-inning at-bats nearly every single game.

And for someone who hit .323 with a .906 OPS against southpaws last year, that will be great for Pollock.

Seager sees himself go down to seventh against southpaws, but not as a punishment. With the three-batter rule, it is really important to space out the bats, so while he would be better off hitting sixth or even fifth, I would rather Muncy hit fifth and have the right-handed bat to sandwich between Muncy and Seager.

dark. Next. Why the Dodgers had to make the Mookie Betts trade

This is how I would do it if I were Dave Roberts. We all know that the lineup will change almost every day with the abundance of talent, but when it really comes down to it, this is the best outlook.

Home/Los Angeles Dodgers