Marlins Sign Mike Morse to a Two Year Deal

[Jay]

Gordon leading off is going to be another horrible management decision.

[Bobbob1313]

Gordon leading off is going to be another horrible management decision.

Fun fact:

Dee Gordon's OBP was identical to the average major-league leadoff hitter last season, and was better than the average hitter.

He had a higher OBP than every projected Marlins regular except for Stanton, McGehee, Morse and Yelich.

I don't really think anyone thinks Morse or Stanton should hit in the top-two of the order. I wouldn't mind McGehee as the No. 2 hitter behind Yelich, but that's not happening.

So, Yelich and Dee are going to be the top two hitters in the lineup in some order. The difference between Dee batting leadoff vs. Yelich is maybe one or two outs over the course of the season, so I don't really think it's that big of an issue.

[HUGG]

McGehee hitting 2nd would be fun.

Anyone know the single-season MLB record for 1st inning GIDPs?

[Nick]

When I suggested McGehee hitting 2nd behind Gordon in another thread my thought process was that Gordon's speed may help McGehee cut down on the double plays, while also having a solid OBP guy low in the order assuming McGehee can continue what he did last year.

[Jay]

It's not just Dee's OBP. I doubt the organization tells him not to steal bases meaning he will be caught stealing ~20% of the time lowering that on base percentage. The gains from those stolen bases are likely not going to lead to that many more runs than if he hadn't stolen those bases assuming hes followed by Yelich Stanton Morse Ozuna.

Now if you drop him down lower in the lineup stealing a bag would lead to more runs than not stealing it when followed by two of Salty/McGehee/Hech and pitcher. Him also being a threat on the base paths would distract the pitcher which would lead to more mistakes being made and improving the chance of those who follow him getting on base. This occurs where ever he hits in the lineup but the hitters at the top of the order don't need the increased probability of mistake pitches as those at the bottom. Not to mention stealing bags increases the chances of the bat being taken out of Stanton's hands and getting caught stealing is a greater loss when you've got your best hitters up.

If Dee is hitting later in the order, Yelich is clearly the leadoff guy and Salty/McGehee/Hech are hitting second. Whoever is batting second is also going to see a lot more pitches to hit with Stanton behind them. We can expect Yelich to perform well with or without Stanton immediately behind him. Gordon would benefit but stealing a bag with one of the best hitters in the league up isn't advisable so Gordon's speed would just be wasted.

It all comes down to optimizing run scoring potential with how the lineup is arranged and putting Dee farther down would do that.

Fun fact:

Dee Gordon's OBP was identical to the average major-league leadoff hitter last season, and was better than the average hitter.

He had a higher OBP than every projected Marlins regular except for Stanton, McGehee, Morse and Yelich.

I don't really think anyone thinks Morse or Stanton should hit in the top-two of the order. I wouldn't mind McGehee as the No. 2 hitter behind Yelich, but that's not happening.

So, Yelich and Dee are going to be the top two hitters in the lineup in some order. The difference between Dee batting leadoff vs. Yelich is maybe one or two outs over the course of the season, so I don't really think it's that big of an issue.

Since when do we care what the rest of the league is doing? We're trying to gain a competitive advantage over the rest of the league.

So half of the starting position players had a better OBP than Dee last year. Morse and Stanton shouldn't be hitting in the top 2. If the roster was a bunch of high slugging guys it might be different. But McGehee should be given a chance in the 2 hole.

Please expand on how Dee vs Yelich batting leadoff is only one or two outs over the course of the season?

[Miamarlin21]

Two-year, $16 million with incentives. That's it.

[HUGG]

I'd really like Yelich hitting 3rd and Stanton hitting 4th in a perfect world (meaning someone who was better than McGehee hitting 2nd). Yelich makes consistent "good" contact and would excel in an RBI role, in my opinion.

He didn't hit his first infield fly ball as a major league player until September of 2014, over 800pa into his career.

Gordon
McGehee
Yelich
Stanton
Morse
Ozuna
Salty
Hech

would be our best lineup, I think

[Bobbob1313]

Please expand on how Dee vs Yelich batting leadoff is only one or two outs over the course of the season?

Operating under the assumption that Gordon is going to be in the top-two of the lineup along with Yelich, the order doesn't really matter. If Yelich is the lead off guy over Dee, he gets maybe 30 extra plate appearances, and at that small a number, the difference in their OBP is essentially nonexistent.

We can say he should be batting lower in the order, sure, but if the only other possible alternative is Casey McGehee, I'm not exactly gonna lose sleep over it. The fact of the matter is, he'd be a top-of-the-order hitter for most teams in baseball; whether we think that should be the case or not is ultimately irrelevant, because it is still how most teams view lineup construction.

Also, suggesting Jarrod Saltalamacchia or Adeiny Hechavarria as more ideal top-of-the-order options than Gordon strikes me as craaaaaaazy.
--------------------
We would also do well to remember that the differences in lineup construction over thre course of a full season are probably pretty negligible anyways, so it's probably not worth arguing over.

[Jay]

It's not that salty, Hech and mcgehee are better suited for the 2 hole, it's that Gordon would create more runs lower in the order than those players would. And with the exception of Hech the runs created by the top of the order projects to be the same.

[The Big Fish]

Good clubhouse guy - hopefully he brings "Take on Me" over for his At-bats

[dgriot]

I'm hoping Morse brings back Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force's "Looking for the Perfect Beat".

[The Big Fish]

Baker should be our starting 3B vs. LHP. That, alone, will greatly improve our overall 3B production.

(he probably won't be)

Agree, he's deadly against LHP.

Must-play at minimum salary against a southpaw on daily fantasy baseball sites!

[kusch]

Agree, he's deadly against LHP.

Must-play at minimum salary against a southpaw on daily fantasy baseball sites!

Chris Johnson is always minimum on fanduel. Next season we need to help eachother out on those sites. I actually did really well last season.

[Miamarlin21]

Mike Morse will wear number 38.