Milwaukee Brewers: Building A Better Batting Order

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Sep 17, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun (8) celebrates his two RBI home run with second baseman Scooter Gennett (2) during the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /

The sabermetric lineup suggests hitting your best overall hitter second. This would bump Ryan Braun up a spot. Is this a good idea?

For most of his Brewer career, Ryan Braun has been the teams 3-hitter. According to Reifer’s study, the team is missing out on runs by not batting him 2nd.

The reason being, by batting 2nd Braun would receive more plate appearances in meaningful situations. With baseball being a game of averages, Counsell would have given Braun more opportunities to produce runs.

As previously stated, runs win baseball games.

Given the left-fielder sits just behind Villar with a .365 OBP, the team would have created more base runners throughout the season.

This suggests that Craig Counsell missed an opportunity to produce more base runners this season.

Instead of Braun, Scooter Gennett took the majority of 2-hole at bats. Based on his OBP and overall production, this was a mistake.

On the year, Gennett finished with a slash line of .263/.317/.412. These numbers make it hard to argue his placement in the role of a teams best hitter.

Therefore, next season manager Craig Counsell should dare to be bold.

Moving Ryan Braun out of his regular slot could create both a stir among fans and runs for the team.

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