Spring Training Positional Preview

The 2003 edition of the Boston Red Sox will be a hard bunch to classify. GM Theo Epstein has given manager Grady Little a multitude of options for his lineup on any given day. You’ll be hard-pressed to find the same nine names on the lineup card from game to game. Each player has his strength, and depending upon who the Sox will be facing on the mound, that will dictate who will be stepping to the dish. As Epstein likes to say, he’s building a roster 1 through 25 rather than a lineup of 1 through 9. So, without further ado, here’s the 2003 Spring Training edition of the positional Boston Red Sox:

Projected Lineup
CF – Johnny Damon
2B – Todd Walker
SS – Nomar Garciaparra
LF – Manny Ramirez
1B – Jeremy Giambi
3B – Shea Hillenbrand
DH – David Ortiz
RF – Trot Nixon
C – Jason Varitek

Other names to know:

C – Doug Mirabelli
1B – Kevin Millar
3B – Bill Mueller
1B – Julio Zuleta
IF – Lou Merloni
IF – Damian Jackson
OF – Adrian Brown

Who’s guaranteed a spot? Well, the usual suspects are going to be fixtures in the Boston lineup. Here’s a brief rundown, with the players’ ages being those of October 1, 2003. The stats are batting averages followed by OPS (BA/OPS):

Johnny Damon – CF (Bats: L; Age: 29)
Damon will bat leadoff for the Sox. His lineup slot is about the only one that you can count of game in and game out. Behind him will be different looks depending upon the pitcher the team will be facing. He battled a knee injury for most of the second half of last year, keeping his steals in the second half down. In fact, his numbers suffered across the board. Expect him to be healthy and post very good leadoff numbers. Walker, Garciaparra, and Ramirez should be hitting behind him most of the time, so look for Damon to score some runs this season. The team had a hard time finding the right hitter for the number two spot last year, but they’ve addressed that need very well.

Todd Walker – 2B (Bats: L; Age: 30)
Lacking offense at second base last year, the team filled a huge hole by acquiring Walker. For some reason, his defensive capabilities have been called into question, but this guy led the National League in fielding percentage last year. He may not have the range of Rey Sanchez, but he sure can hit circles around him. Walker should thrive in this lineup. He goes the other way often and The Wall in left should be his new best friend. Expect him to post high numbers in runs scored with the two guys behind him in the order. He could rack up a career high total in RBI with his penchant for hitting two-baggers and with Damon in front of him.

Nomar Garciaparra – SS (Bats: R; Age: 30)
Hard to believe, but Nomar will be 30 this season. Will he play the whole season in red stockings? There have been some rumblings the team may deal him, as the all-important year of 2004 looms large for the owners’ bank accounts. Garciaparra, Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe, Jason Varitek, and a few others are all slated to become free agents at the end of that year. The team likely can’t afford to sign all those players, so the player with the most trade value is obviously Nomar. That being said, Garciaparra should continue to rank in the top three shortstops in the game. There’s really little to say, as it’s rather obvious Nomar is a bonafide superstar.

Manny Ramirez – LF (Bats: R; Age: 31)
Despite the finger injury and frequent lapses of good judgment, Ramirez remains one of the best hitters in the game. The defending American League batting champ should maintain his current level of production. He may not win the batting crown again, but he’ll post an average well above .300 with 40 homers and close to 130 ribbies. Again, like Garciaparra, you should know who this guy is by now. One thing the team is thinking about is sometimes switching Manny and Nomar in the order, so that Garciaparra would bat cleanup. Both players have historically hit above their already impressive ways when this swap in the order was employed.

Jason Varitek – C (Bats: S; Age: 31)
A serviceable catcher, Varitek saw his production tail off from his injury shortened 2001 season. He had a similar season to his 2000 campaign last year. This looks like a trend and expect the same from him this year. He’s turned into more of a defensive minded catcher, and he’s one of the better ones in the league. Unfortunately, unless you’re in a freaky fantasy league, defense doesn’t really matter.

In what looks to be a logjam at the corner positions, the Red Sox currently have five players that will be sharing at-bats. How they get them is up to manager Grady Little. Many in the Boston area feel this is putting a bull’s eye squarely on the manager, making him think harder than most his American League counterparts. According to General Manager Theo Epstein, however, he feels that he’s just giving Little more bullets to use. The interesting thing is that all of these players compliment each other wonderfully. Each of these players have holes in their game, yet they have the ability to fill the holes of their counterparts.

Kevin Millar – 1B/LF/RF (Bats: R; Age: 32)
After causing an international incident, the Red Sox finally got their man in Millar. While I’ve been iffy on his signing and overall worth, I have to say I have come around. The guy can flat out hit and he’s a great guy in the clubhouse. He’ll be the newest “Dirt Dawg”, the moniker affectionately given to those players here that scrap and hustle like few others. This group already consists of Trot Nixon, Jason Varitek, and Lou Merloni. Millar, along with Jeremy Giambi and Todd Walker, will add to this gritty group of gamers. Now, back to Millar. He should get enough at bats to be drafted in your fantasy league if you need a utility player. He’ll spend much of his time at DH, but can also play first base and could see a lot of time in right field when the team faces a lefty, as Nixon has had little success versus southpaws. Millar’s splits are good against both righties and lefties. He hit .317/.871 against left-handers and .302/.876 when facing a righty. He should pelt the Monster with plenty of extra base hits.

Jeremy Giambi – 1B/LF/RF (Bats: L; Age: 29)
Giambi will be in a similar situation as Millar, except he will likely see more time against righties. Don’t let this fact fool you, though. He has proven he can hit all pitchers. His career splits are nearly identical, albeit in much more time facing righties. In 261 career at-bats vs. lefties, he’s put together a pretty nice .268/.801. As aforementioned, his stats in 1,029 career at-bats against righties show .269/.822. If there was one player that could come out of camp as the favorite to win the first base job, it has to be this guy. He also arrived early to camp in order to work on his defense. Giambi is serious about becoming an everyday player. See if you can steal this guy late in the draft.

David Ortiz – 1B (Bats: L; Age: 27)
Personally, I’m excited to see what this guy can do in 500 at-bats. He can pound the ball, as evidenced by his 20 homers on only 412 at-bats last year. Plus, he’s just entering his prime. The misconception about Ortiz is that he can’t hit lefties. It’s just not true. Career-wise, we see a very steady performer against both. Facing lefties, Ortiz has .263/.795 and righties he has .267/.813. Again, the stats are skewed by the sheer number of at-bats he’s had against righties (1,131) and lefties (346). He looks like the dark horse to come away with the first base job and certainly is in the lead for the DH role. Ortiz, like Giambi, showed up early to Ft. Myers to work on his defense. He has had little time off this winter, as he was busy being the MVP of the Dominican World Series. His teammates included Miguel Tejada, Rafael Furcal, and Raul Mondesi, so it’s not like Ortiz was on a team of slouches. It looks like Ortiz could finally be realizing his potential to be a solid hitter.

Trot Nixon – RF/CF (Bats: L; Age: 29)
Now here’s a guy that should really be in a platoon. He just can’t hit lefties (.216/.632 in 320 career at-bats). Millar or Giambi could spell him in these cases and you really need to pay attention to pitching matchups if you have Nixon on your team. Against right-handers, Nixon is an extremely tough out. In 1,586 career at-bats, Nixon has been very good versus righties (.282/.876). Unfortunately, at his age, Nixon isn’t going to learn to hit lefties. So, if you can use him against righties, then you should be pretty happy with the results. He slipped last season, but if used correctly, he should post very decent numbers. Someone else will over-value him and draft him late. I’d say let him go and see if he can be picked up on waivers during the year.

Shea Hillenbrand – 3B (Bats: R; Age: 28)
In an odd circumstance, Hillenbrand does better against righties (.290/.774) than he does lefties (.247/.639). His complete lack of plate patience is well documented, but the number of walks he had last season was the most he’s ever had at any level. Could this be a sign? He has really been working hard to learn better discipline at the dish. The fact he’s been able to do that, plus learn the pitchers in the American League, plus only be a third year player has been an encouraging sign. He was the subject of trade rumors in the off-season to Montreal and the Mets, but the Sox have since pulled him off the trading block. The team brought Bill Mueller in to give them insurance should a trade go down, but actually, the two compliment each other well. While Hillenbrand hits better against righties, Mueller is a better option against lefties. Hillenbrand will also be entered into the first base mix, so he could gain eligibility there as well. This could increase his fantasy value.

Bill Mueller – 3B (Bats: S; Age: 32)
As stated above, Mueller will share time at third base with Hillenbrand. He will see plenty of time there, but the team plans on using him as a second baseman, as well. He will definitely see enough time to qualify for that position in fantasy leagues. When a ground ball pitcher like Derek Lowe is on the mound, you will almost certainly see Mueller in the lineup somewhere. Lifetime, Mueller has shown he can hit both righties (.286/.760) and lefties (.286/802) equally well, though last year’s numbers tell a different story. Mueller is best known for his defense, but he could surprise with a little more offense this season with the wall in left to help him.

Julio Zuleta – 1B (Bats: R; Age: 28)
One of the more interesting developments this off-season was the signing of minor league free agent Julio Zuleta. He had been a highly regarded prospect in the Cubs system for many years. When they elevated Hee Seop Choi to future first base status, Zuleta became expendable. His patience at the plate has been scrutinized, but he did hit 31 homers at AAA Iowa last season. In fact, his plate patience improved there last season, drawing the most walks in his career. Zuleta’s career is close to that of the recently departed Brian Daubach. If he can produce like Daubach without the streakiness, then Zuleta could turn into a serious sleeper. This is a story that could become a headliner during the spring.

Next time around, we’ll take a look at the pitching staff. There a few interesting names that have been brought into camp to fight for a job, so stay tuned. Until then, if you have any questions on the Red Sox, you can email me at redsox@fantasyinfocentral.com or you can post a question here or at the Red Sox Fan Forum. If you’d like to help out with Red Sox coverage, send me an email, as I’m looking for a local candidate to assist me.