Snap a picture of this Texas Rangers lineup. It may be a fixture, with one exception
The cleanup spot isn’t anywhere Todd Frazier hasn’t been before in his career.
In fact, nearly one-fifth of his 4,737 plate appearance have come while batting fourth, as have roughly a fifth of his 214 career homers and a fifth of his 624 RBIs.
If the lineup the Texas Rangers used Saturday is in indication, he will be adding to those totals this season.
Frazier was batting fourth, between the lefty-hitting Joey Gallo and Willie Calhoun, against Chicago White Sox right-hander Drew Anderson. Shin-Soo Choo was where he always is, first as the designated hitter.
The first eight batters could very well be in the lineup manager Chris Woodward posts for the March 26 season opener at Seattle, or multiple times during the 2020 MLB season depending on health and matchups.
“It’s a pretty good lineup today,” Woodward said. “I like it. I think there’s going to be some pretty good production up and down the lineup. We still have a long way to go before decision will be fully made, but it’s nice to get those guys playing together one after the other.”
To his point, Ronald Guzman, who batted eighth, is not a lock to win the job at first base. Even if he does, he might sit against left-handers in a platoon with Frazier.
Springtime injuries could pop up and cost one of the first eight time to start the season.
The only hitter Saturday unlikely to be in the regular-season mix was catcher Nick Ciuffo, who batted ninth. Robinson Chirinos, who is nearly recovered from tightness in his right hamstring, will be the primary catcher and Jeff Mathis is expected to be the backup.
Chirinos has batted in the bottom three spots most of his career, and hit eighth in most of his games last season with the Houston Astros. With Choo, a lefty hitter, atop the lineup, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the righty-hitting Chirinos hits ninth.
Woodward said the easiest to find a home for is Gallo in the No. 3 hole, as the Rangers want to make sure he gets a first-inning at-bat and possibly an extra late. Frazier, as a veteran right-handed hitter with power, is a good bet to bat cleanup.
“I really don’t mind where I hit, to be honest with you,” Frazier said. “If that’s where Woody wants me to go, I’ll do it.
“Being the cleanup guy, you’ve got to be ready to drive in some runs. That doesn’t mean getting a hit every time. That means with runners in scoring position finding a way to get guys in.”
Frazier has been around his new teammates for about two weeks and has come away believing they will score runs even though the offense is thought to be short a big bat (or two).
He sees professional hitters, something he knew about Choo from playing with him in 2013 with the Cincinnati Reds. But on Thursday he watched Elvis Andrus slide into the lineup for the first time this spring and collect hits in both of his at-bats.
Frazier sees Gallo still working to be better with pitch selection, and already understands how important Gallo’s power will be to the Rangers’ success.
But they will be successful.
“I see a lot of potential, literally from top to bottom,” Frazier said. “It’s just a matter of who’s going to come to play today. Our job is to calm the pitchers down and let them relax, and try new things out there if they need to. That means putting up a lot of runs, so let’s focus on getting runs in and let’s focus on having those pitchers understand we’re going to score some runs for them.”
