Baltimore Orioles Lineups and Batting Orders for 2015

Jul 7, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter (left) and Washington Nationals manager Matt Williams (second from right) exchange lineup cards prior to the game at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

As always when writing about the Baltimore Orioles in January and speculating on lineups and batting orders, a lot can change in a few weeks. Delmon Young was signed in 2014 around the middle of January, though at that time there was no certainty that he could even make the team. And of course the late Nelson Cruz addition did not come until quite late in the offseason, but it changed everything. Probably most people last January also expected Ryan Flaherty to get the most at-bats at second base, not Jonathan Schoop.

But what might some Orioles lineups for 2015 look like – as best as can be seen from January 9^th?

Here are a couple of assumptions for discussion: Let us consider Young as a complete certainty – which he may be by announcement before this day is over; and let us presume that the Colby Rasmus signing does eventuate, in that the Orioles are the presumed landing spot for him.

Regarding the roster, let us also presume that Matt Wieters and Manny Machado are healthy and active, and let’s assume also that Caleb Joseph is the backup catcher with Flaherty the utility infielder. So that gives us a total of seven players for infield and catcher.

For the outfield and DH, let’s add six players: Steve Pearce (who can play 1B as well), Delmon Young, Adam Jones, Alejandro De Aza, Colby Rasmus, and David Lough … so three righties and three lefties.

All together that totals 13 position players, though it is possible the Orioles at times will carry 14 with 11 pitchers rather than a total of 12 hurlers. There are many directions the O’s could go with that extra player – perhaps in a way we cannot now see or anticipate. I’m tempted to add Endy Chavez just to get a rise out of people, but in any event, a 14^th player is not going to be a frequent starter. Actually, thinking about it a bit more, it probably needs to be a player with options so as to be able to work the Norfolk shuttle.

Of our 13 names, we have seven right-handed batters, five lefties and one switch-hitter. That is a good mix.

Let me state the main point up front rather than wait for it to be revealed at the end. This is a roster that is going to make for nearly endless lineup and batting order possibilities. It is not going to be anything like the daily predictable lineups of the Orioles of my childhood in the 60s and 70s. And though Showalter has many variations already, I believe we will see this to be even more true in 2015.

Think about it: How many of the Orioles in this lineup are pretty much guaranteed a regular spot in the batting order each night? Adam Jones certainly will be, in the third or fourth position. The same will be true of Chris Davis, assuming he returns to some approximation of the player we remember from 2012 and 2013. Manny Machado would be presumed to hit second, though perhaps this will be the time to place him more into the middle of the order. Wieters and J.J. Hardy are going to bat in the sixth or seventh holes with Jonathan Schoop at the end.

But there is no doubt that the corner outfielders are going to be varied, along with the designated hitter each night … all depending upon the matchups with the pitcher. Buck Showalter loves to work matchups, and he is a master at it. He is a research guy, looking at and giving weight in his decision-making to the personal records of a given hitter against a particular pitcher. As a writer, when putting together game previews and looking at the stats, it in fun to guess along with Showalter as to who will be in the lineup that night. We are often able to anticipate what may at first glance be a surprise move, only to be actually quite logical when considering that the player – who is a .230 career hitter – is batting .475 with multiple home runs against the opposition’s starter that night.

Again, without a 40-homer guy or clear leadoff hitter in the vein of a Nick Markakis, we are going to see an unusual variety of lineups. Consider how the Orioles could go with a heavy left-handed order – with Lough and De Aza in the outfield, Rasmus as DH and Flaherty at second base. It could look like this with six lefties:

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