That Balls Outta Here
FanSided

Five Phillies lineup possibilities for the 2018 season

By John Town

PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 21: Manager Charlie Manuel #41 of the Philadelphia Phillies adjusts the lineup card during the game against the St. Louis Cardinals in a MLB baseball game on April 21, 2013 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 21: Manager Charlie Manuel #41 of the Philadelphia Phillies adjusts the lineup card during the game against the St. Louis Cardinals in a MLB baseball game on April 21, 2013 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 30: Rhys Hoskins #17 of the Philadelphia Phillies hits an RBI single against the New York Mets during the seventh inning of a game at Citizens Bank Park on September 30, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

This could be interesting

  1. 1B Rhys Hoskins
  2. SS J.P. Crawford
  3. LF Carlos Santana
  4. RF Aaron Altherr
  5. CF Odubel Herrera
  6. 2B Cesar Hernandez
  7. 3B Maikel Franco
  8. C Jorge Alfaro
  9. P Nick Pivetta

Now we’re starting to dive into some more wacky lineup combinations. A rising trend in baseball is rather than having your traditional leadoff hitter hit at the top of the lineup, you put your best hitter. That would be Hoskins, who spent the last two months of 2017 punishing baseballs in the majors after doing it all year in Triple-A. Santana, who is now arguably the team’s second-best hitter, would finish off the first inning, hitting third. That could give Philadelphia plenty of games where they get on the board early thanks to Hoskins or Crawford getting on base followed by Santana knocking them in.

Hoskins and Santana have also switched positions here. Santana will mostly play first base with Hoskins in left field, but Kapler said that Santana could see some time in the outfield as well depending on how the season goes.

Altherr is also getting his first crack in the lineup here. If he is still with the team when the season starts, he could platoon with Williams in the outfield. If the Phillies are facing a tough lefty, that would be the ideal time to get the right-handed hitting Altherr in the lineup.

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