You don't think Pena (or whoever bats second) sees better pitches with Yordan hitting behind him rather than whoever is hitting 7th?
Hasn’t played out that way. Bregman didn’t turn super-human batting 2nd. Pena is largely getting pitched to the same… he’s just not missing when the pitchers hang one. Maybe he’s naturally more aggressive knowing he has others behind him if he doesn’t come through…. But by that logic, he would have excelled in the leadoff spot as well. Maybe he’s got better recollection of the pitching scouting report earlier in the game vs. later in the game (but again, that would have been showcased when he was batting leadoff). Maybe it’s all flukey/small sample size. I do like having the best hitters hit more during the game… and right now, this should be their 1-5 against both lefties and righties. In the end, having Altuve actually makes all the difference with this lineup going from mediocre to dangerous.
Sometimes...it's just a mystery. I would like Pena to hit 2nd for awhile and see if his production stays or tends back to the norm. Then let the Astros brains figure it out why that is the case with Pena.
There’s a good chance that’s true, but he’s had more ABs at 2 than any other position and by far a higher OPS than career. Whatever the reason it’s worth sticking him there till there is a reason not to do it
Does anyone else remember Leadoff Hitter George Springer? We've seen this song and dance before, except Dusty apparently.
I see several trains of thought here. 1) Batting order position should not matter. A hitter should hit wherever he is and a pitcher can throw any pitch to anyone anywhere in the order. 2) the #2 spot in the order is for getting on base. Jeremy doesn't do that enough, or others like Brantley, Bregman, or even Yordan do it more/better. 3) what's good for 1 player may not be what's good for the team as a whole. I understand all of that. But sometimes baseball just doesn't fit into a little box. Regardless of conventional wisdom or baseball philosophy it works. Maybe it's just that Jeremy likes being 2nd. Maybe it's all mental and he just thinks he will get better pitches. Maybe he feels it's more important to get on base in front of the heart of the lineup so he focuses more. Whatever the reason it can no longer be debated that he is better AND the team is better with him there. So far, it's a better and deeper lineup. Maybe it can be reevaluated when Brantley returns. But write him there in pen every game until/ unless he regressed for now. FTR I was against him hitting 2nd until very recently. I have just seen enough evidence.
Never mind that Dusty was the one that pushed to play Pena in the 2 spot last season, particularly in the playoffs, against the wishes of the front office. But yeah, it's all Dusty's fault. Reason to play Pena at #2 - he seems better there, for whatever reason Reason to play him lower - if he's ever going to improve as a hitter, he needs to not be dependent on hitting 2 I'd hit him all over the order in the regular season, and exclusively at 2 in the playoffs. It's similar to playing Chas against righties. Sure, he's phenomenal against lefties. But if they want to him to get better against righties and not pigeon-hole himself into a lefty specialist, you can't play him only in the positions where he has success - beyond not getting exposure, you'll develop habits that don't work against righties. In the playoffs, he gets all the at-bats against lefties, but in the regular season, he needs variety.
Peña has hit substantially better when batting 8th than when batting 2nd over his career. Why isn’t he batting 8th?
looks like he’s been luckier when hitting second, but his expected wOBA when hitting 8th is .423 for his career compared to only .335 for when hitting second. He’s basically Yordan Alvarez when hitting 8th. Y’all really don’t want two Yordan’s in the lineup?
For most players it shouldn’t and wouldn’t A lot of Penas struggles are reduced with Yordan on deck though. He sees more fastballs and more balls in the zone. Regardless of how he has done batting 2nd, no pitcher is going to want to risk walking him with Yordan on deck Todays lineup is as close to ideal as we can get
