In the mid-1990s, the Colorado Rockies fielded a group of hitters known as the Blake Street Bombers, with Vinny Castilla. Dante Bichette, Ellis Burks, Larry Walker and Andres Galarraga -- and when they played at home, their games seemed to be different from baseball played anywhere else. No pitcher was safe, no lead was safe, with the Colorado hitters in attack mode from the first pitch and baseballs pinballing all over the park.
This brand of baseball sort of went dormant … until last season, in Toronto. No pitcher was safe. No lead was safe. The Blue Jays' hitters were in attack mode from the first pitch onward, and by season’s end, Toronto averaged a full run more per game than all but six other teams. The Blue Jays scored 891 runs, 127 more than the team that finished second in this category, the Yankees. Toronto clubbed 232 homers, 71 more than the Boston Red Sox and nearly 100 more than the San Francisco Giants.
The Blue Jays' team OPS was .797, which means they basically fielded an entire lineup that was a combination of Jose Altuves and Todd Fraziers.
So for Part 5 of our series in which we rank the team units based on the input of rival evaluators, the No. 1 team among the top 10 lineups is fairly apparent.
The Blue Jays have a puzzle of pitching to sort through as they construct their defense of the 2015 AL East title, but John Gibbons’ offense will basically be the same, with MVP Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Troy Tulowitzki among the top five spots, in some sort of arrangement. Russell Martin catches, and the Blue Jays had excellent first-base production as well, from Chris Colabello and Justin Smoak.
The Jays will go into spring training envisioning a platoon of Michael Saunders and Dalton Pompey in left field.
There is no relief from this group, and there are bound to be some epic at-bats in great innings when the Jays face the revamped bullpens of the Yankees and Red Sox in 2016.
Only Toronto scored more runs in the second half of last season than the Rangers, who finished third overall, with many players pitching in substantively from all over their lineup. Delino DeShields took over for Leonys Martin as the team’s center fielder. Prince Fielder had a strong comeback season in which he hit .305 with 187 hits and 23 homers. Adrian Beltre did Adrian Beltre stuff, even while playing with a battered thumb. Shortstop Elvis Andrus hit more consistently with a leg kick down the stretch and improved. Second baseman Rougned Odor had 41 extra-base hits after being recalled from the minors in mid-June -- and remember, he’s still only 21 and already has a tremendous contact-to-damage rate. Right fielder Shin-Soo Choo was batting under .100 at the end of April and wound up reaching base 244 times.
Like other teams, the Rangers could have a shot at landing an attractive free agent: If Justin Upton winds up taking a short-term deal before going back into the market next fall, he would fit Texas in a lot of ways. As a right-handed hitter, he could balance a lineup that generally leans left, could play left field, and could put up big numbers in the middle of a strong lineup and set himself up well. But with Fielder entrenched at DH, it’s hard to see how Upton and Josh Hamilton could coexist on the same roster unless Hamilton shifted into a part-time, fourth-outfielder role. It’s unclear whether the Rangers even have the money for Upton -- but with the Orioles focused on Yoenis Cespedes, this is a situation worth watching.
3. Chicago Cubs
In the second half of last season, as Kyle Schwarber established himself as a regular presence in the Cubs’ lineup, the team’s offense took off: Chicago was fourth in the majors in runs in August and fifth in September. But the Cubs are probably just getting started, because now Kris Bryant has just about a full season of experience, as does Addison Russell. Now the Cubs will have Schwarber in the big leagues for all of 2016. Now Ben Zobrist will be part of the regular lineup. And now the Cubs will have Jason Heyward in the lineup every day, and while nobody is sure whether Heyward will hit home runs consistently, he gets on base, he is an excellent baserunner and he makes the lineup better. The only thing holding back this group might be the Wrigley Field winds that blow in from right-center field on cold days.
4. Boston Red Sox
Boston will go into the 2016 season with some significant concerns. The Red Sox don’t know whether Hanley Ramirez can take to first base and help salvage the last three years of his contract, and the team finds itself in the same position as the Giants were in for years, guessing what Pablo Sandoval will be able to contribute. David Ortiz will be 40 years old as he enters the final year of his career, and last season it took him awhile to get started against lefties.
But the lineup depth should help the Red Sox overcome some of these problems, given the presence of Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia, a developing Blake Swihart, Chris Young et al. They have too many good players to struggle for very long, and even in what was generally a lost year for a last-place team, Boston finished fourth overall in runs scored in 2015. The Red Sox are going to hit.
Alex Speier looks at the possibility of a bounce-back season for Ramirez and Sandoval.
As Carlos Correa and George Springer continue to develop and the Astros eventually introduce Alex Bregman into this lineup, Houston’s offense could become the envy of the AL West. But even as they stand, the Astros are pretty good; Houston finished sixth in the majors in runs last season, even though the team ranked in the bottom half for on-base percentage at catcher, first base and third base.
If the Astros employ Carlos Gomez as their center fielder in the summer before his free agency, he will be a notable X factor after being affected by injuries last season. After excellence with the Brewers in 2013 and 2014, Gomez -- who turned 30 last month -- had a .671 OPS in 41 games with Houston.
Like the Blue Jays, they have a beastly offense when at home, but they’re pretty good on the road, too -- they were second in the big leagues in road scoring in 2015, and they’re bringing back most of the same cast. But Alex Rodriguez enters the season at 40 years old, Carlos Beltran will be 39 and Mark Teixeira 36 in April, and Brian McCann turns 32 in February. “When I look at them,” said one executive, “I really wonder how much age will be a factor.”
General manager Brian Cashman has been working to make the roster younger, adding Starlin Castro and Aaron Hicks to Didi Gregorius, and Greg Bird and Aaron Judge are waiting for an opportunity. But the Yankees will again have to rely on some of their oldest players, a risk.
The Royals may never again lead the majors in run production because of the ballpark in which they play, because of the team’s payroll size and because of the style of player mostly preferred by K.C.’s front office (as in, defense first, with Alcides Escobar and the corner outfielders). But the Royals made significant progress last year after adding Kendrys Morales; not only did he provide some middle-of-the-order thump that K.C. needed, but other Royals say he was exceptional at digging out the tendencies of opposing pitchers and sharing them with teammates. Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas, Salvador Perez and Escobar have all continued to get better as hitters, and Alex Gordon is back with them to play left field.
The Diamondbacks fielded two players who finished third and sixth in the majors in runs scored in A.J. Pollock and Paul Goldschmidt. The duo combined to reach base 549 times last season, a tremendous base for any offense, and the Diamondbacks have some good complementary pieces in David Peralta and (perhaps) Yasmany Tomas. Welington Castillo had 17 homers in 80 games for the Diamondbacks last season after hitting 29 homers in his first 316 games in the big leagues.
The production for the Diamondbacks at second base, shortstop and third base will probably be the difference between good and great for this group. Chris Owings, the second baseman, hit .227 last season, shortstop Nick Ahmed hit .226 and third baseman Jake Lamb batted .263 with six homers in 350 at-bats.
9. Colorado Rockies
Death, taxes and the Rockies amassing a lot of runs: the only stuff we can count on every year.
It’s hardly a secret that hitters generate star-level numbers while batting in Coors Field, and so whether the Rockies trade Carlos Gonzalez or not, they’ll still pile up production. Last year, DJ LeMahieu batted .301 and scored 85 runs, Corey Dickerson batted .304 in 65 games, and new catcher Nick Hundley thrived, batting .301. Nolan Arenado led the majors in RBIs and had 20 more RBIs than any other player in the NL.
The Rockies had a team OPS of .841 in their home games, best in the majors, and on the road, they were at .652, the worst in the majors.
10. San Francisco Giants
The Giants’ lineup is a lot like that of the Royals -- a lot of contact, relatively few strikeouts, tough at-bats -- and the anchor of the San Francisco lineup is one of the best hitters in baseball, Buster Posey. He had more walks (56) than strikeouts (52) last season and batted .318; Posey’s career slash line looks like that of a future Hall of Famer: .310/.375/.484.
The best of the rest: The Pirates have sort of a weird offense, because they don’t have a lot of power -- they were 23rd in homers last season, with Pedro Alvarez leading the way, before Pittsburgh dumped him over defensive concerns and replaced him with John Jaso, whose strength is getting on base. Pittsburgh might not reach 120 homers for the 2016 season.
But around Andrew McCutchen and Starling Marte, the Pirates have a lot of good hitters, like catcher Francisco Cervelli, who batted .295, second baseman Josh Harrison and third baseman Jung Ho Kang. It’s never going to be a dynamic lineup -- the Pirates really can’t afford one, when you get right down to it -- but it’s generally consistent. Among all teams in the majors, the Pirates finished 11th in runs last season.
The Seattle Mariners, who have shored up some of the perceived weaknesses in their lineup, adding Adam Lind for middle-of-the-order thump; the Minnesota Twins, who will have a full season of Miguel Sano; the White Sox, who perhaps should be in the top 10; the Detroit Tigers, if 3-4 hitters Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez stay healthy, because that will make all the difference for them.
Notables
• The Orioles have made an offer to Yoenis Cespedes, writes Roch Kubatko. The Orioles are willing to bid in the range of $75 million to $90 million for Cespedes, tweets Jerry Crasnick, who adds that Baltimore has gotten increasingly frustrated in waiting for Chris Davis.
• Following the Al Jazeera report that implicated players, sources say MLB has moved aggressively to follow leads in the case, as it did in the Biogenesis case.
• Jayson Stark writes about how polarized the National League will be, with a lot of teams either tanking or rebuilding, depending on who forms the definition.
• Now that the Padres have signed shortstop Alexei Ramirez, this is what their group of position players will apparently look like in 2016, with their opening-day ages:
C Derek Norris, 27
1B Wil Myers, 25
2B Cory Spangenberg, 25
3B Yangervis Solarte, 28
SS Ramirez, 34
LF Jon Jay, 31
CF Melvin Upton Jr., 31
RF Matt Kemp, 31
Moves, deals and decisions
As arbitration cases are resolved:
1. Chris Stewart got a two-year extension.
2. The Phillies avoided arbitration with Jeanmar Gomez.
3. The Rangers signed Jurickson Profar.
4. The Braves signed Chris Withrow, as Michael Cunningham writes.
5. The Dodgers agreed to terms with Scott Van Slyke.
6. The Tigers worked out a deal with Andrew Romine.
7. The Twins have signed Tommy Milone.
8. The White Sox worked out a couple of deals.
9. The Marlins have some cases to work out.
10. The Rays worked out deals with Logan Forsythe and others, as Marc Topkin writes.
11. The Padres signed a couple of guys.
12. The Angels got a deal done with Fernando Salas.
13. Seattle signed Leonys Martin.
14. Sam LeCure signed with Arizona.
AL East
• Bob Klapisch believes Aroldis Chapman could avoid suspension.
• The Jays could have interest in Yovani Gallardo.
• The amazing story of how Gil Kim wound up working in the Jays’ front office, from John Lott.
AL West
• Gerry Fraley breaks down the Rangers’ No. 1 prospect.
NL East
• Mark Appel is happy for a new start.
• David Wright talked about his work on his back.
• Jacob deGrom is honored by the high hopes for the Mets’ staff.
NL Central
• All St. Louis spring training games will be broadcast.
• Derrick Goold touched on some topics.
• Gregory Polanco is open to a contract extension.
• Jake Arrieta’s value is measured in dollars and hope, writes Gordon Wittenmyer.
• The Brewers are optimistic but realistic about 2016 ticket sales.
• Ben Zobrist’s journey to the Cubs is a homecoming of sorts.
NL West
• Shelby Miller hopes his luck changes with the Diamondbacks, writes Nick Piecoro.
• The Dodgers still have bullpen issues.
Lastly
• Jose Reyes will stand trial.
• Maury Wills has the law on his side.
• Billy Joel will do Fenway Park.
And today will be better than yesterday.