Ranking MLB's best lineups in 2021
Writing this piece wasn't easy - akin to facing the best batting orders in the majors. Many offenses look explosive heading into this season, but the five following lineups have the best combination of power, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, depth, and potential.
Projections courtesy of FanGraphs
5. San Diego Padres
| Order | Player | Pos. | HR | OPS | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trent Grisham (L) | CF | 22 | .788 | 3.5 |
| 2 | Fernando Tatis Jr. | SS | 37 | .906 | 5.9 |
| 3 | Manny Machado | 3B | 35 | .852 | 4.6 |
| 4 | Eric Hosmer (L) | 1B | 23 | .748 | 0.5 |
| 5 | Tommy Pham | LF | 19 | .790 | 2.4 |
| 6 | Wil Myers | RF | 28 | .781 | 1.9 |
| 7 | Jake Cronenworth (L) | 2B | 8 | .735 | 1.3 |
| 8 | Austin Nola (S) | C | 10 | .726 | 1.9 |
The Padres' superstar pair of Tatis and Machado are the heartbeat of this dangerous lineup. Machado is a four-time All-Star who has five 30-plus homer campaigns before his age-28 season, while Tatis - still just 22 years old - owns a career .956 OPS with 39 home runs and 27 stolen bases in 143 games. The two sluggers finished third and fourth in NL MVP voting in 2020, respectively.
The rest of San Diego's offense features a solid mix of veteran bats with intriguing youngsters. Hosmer, a former All-Star, had his best season since 2017 last year, Pham owns a career .832 OPS, and Myers slashed .288/.353/.606 during the shortened 2020 campaign. Grisham, Cronenworth - who finished tied for runner-up in 2020 NL Rookie of the Year voting - and Korean star Ha-seong Kim have the potential to take the offense to a new level.
4. Chicago White Sox
| Order | Player | Pos. | HR | OPS | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tim Anderson | SS | 24 | .776 | 2.2 |
| 2 | Adam Eaton (L) | RF | 13 | .745 | 1.3 |
| 3 | Yasmani Grandal (S) | C | 25 | .785 | 4.4 |
| 4 | Jose Abreu | 1B | 33 | .825 | 1.6 |
| 5 | Eloy Jimenez | LF | 39 | .878 | 3.4 |
| 6 | Yoan Moncada (S) | 3B | 24 | .782 | 2.9 |
| 7 | Luis Robert | CF | 30 | .792 | 3.1 |
| 8 | Zack Collins (L) | DH | 5 | .686 | 0.2 |
| 9 | Nick Madrigal | 2B | 6 | .734 | 2.4 |
The scariest thing about the White Sox is the majority of their stars either haven't reached their primes yet or just entered their most productive years. Jimenez has hit 45 round-trippers in 177 games, Moncada accrued a .915 OPS during his age-24 campaign in 2019, Anderson almost won his second batting title in 2020, and Robert has 30-30 potential. Sprinkle in Abreu, the reigning AL MVP, and Grandal, one of the best backstops in baseball, and Chicago has the makings of a powerhouse lineup. The club could also see top prospect Andrew Vaughn find his way into the batting order at some point in 2021.
3. Toronto Blue Jays
| Order | Player | Pos. | HR | OPS | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Springer | CF | 31 | .852 | 3.9 |
| 2 | Bo Bichette | SS | 25 | .822 | 3.8 |
| 3 | Marcus Semien | 2B | 24 | .786 | 3.1 |
| 4 | Teoscar Hernandez | RF | 36 | .798 | 0.6 |
| 5 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | 1B | 27 | .859 | 3.1 |
| 6 | Cavan Biggio (L) | 3B | 20 | .757 | 2.5 |
| 7 | Lourdes Gurriel Jr. | LF | 28 | .789 | 1.4 |
| 8 | Rowdy Tellez (L) | DH | 22 | .809 | 0.7 |
| 9 | Danny Jansen | C | 14 | .736 | 2.0 |
Every regular in the Blue Jays' lineup - outside of Jansen - is projected to hit at least 20 homers. Toronto's offense scored the seventh-most runs in the majors last season, and that's before the team added Springer and Semien. The Jays and White Sox are the only two teams on this list that have at least six different players projected to amass 2.0 WAR or better in 2021. The foursome of Bichette, Gurriel, Biggio, and Guerrero are all primed to play their first full campaigns this year, while the latter looks poised to break out after hitting .529 with just two strikeouts in 24 plate appearances this spring heading into Wednesday's action.
2. New York Yankees
| Order | Player | Pos. | HR | OPS | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DJ LeMahieu | 2B | 20 | .813 | 3.9 |
| 2 | Aaron Judge | RF | 36 | .890 | 4.2 |
| 3 | Aaron Hicks (S) | CF | 22 | .789 | 2.8 |
| 4 | Giancarlo Stanton | DH | 41 | .891 | 2.3 |
| 5 | Luke Voit | 1B | 34 | .849 | 1.8 |
| 6 | Gleyber Torres | SS | 34 | .868 | 3.7 |
| 7 | Gary Sanchez | C | 24 | .772 | 1.6 |
| 8 | Clint Frazier | LF | 24 | .781 | 1.0 |
| 9 | Gio Urshela | 3B | 20 | .772 | 1.9 |
The Yankees could end up in the No. 1 spot on this list if they stay healthy. New York scored the fourth-most runs in baseball last season despite Judge, Stanton, and Torres all missing significant time due to injuries. The slugging duo of Judge and Stanton has yet to play a full campaign together since the latter joined the club before 2018, so staying on the field is going to be key to take this offense from being really good to unstoppable.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
| Order | Player | Pos. | HR | OPS | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mookie Betts | RF | 33 | .895 | 5.9 |
| 2 | Corey Seager (L) | SS | 31 | .881 | 5.3 |
| 3 | Justin Turner | 3B | 19 | .823 | 2.9 |
| 4 | Cody Bellinger (L) | CF | 30 | .928 | 5.6 |
| 5 | Will Smith | C | 20 | .804 | 1.6 |
| 6 | Max Muncy (L) | 1B | 29 | .830 | 2.0 |
| 7 | AJ Pollock | LF | 27 | .780 | 0.9 |
| 8 | Chris Taylor | 2B | 17 | .761 | 1.4 |
The Dodgers are the favorites to repeat as World Series champions thanks to the best starting rotation and lineup in the majors. Los Angeles is the only team to have three position players projected to collect 5.0 WAR or better in 2021. Betts and Bellinger are former MVPs, while Seager - who's entering a contract year - has five homers with a 1.587 OPS in 12 spring training games. The 26-year-old shortstop has picked up where he left off after winning NLCS MVP honors in 2020. The club also has former top prospect Gavin Lux waiting in case Taylor falters at second base.
Honorable mentions: Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, and Minnesota Twins