Starting Lineup

[wallus]

I always think the batting order doesn't mean a ton but it is something worth talking about I guess.

1. Frelick (RF)

2. Chourio (LF)

3. Yelich (DH)

4. Contreras (C)

5. Turang (2B)

6. Vaughn (1B)

7. Mitchell (CF)

8. Rengifo (3B)

9. Ortiz (SS)

Bench: Perkins, Sanchez, Hamilton, Bauers

If I were in charge, I would start Hamilton at 3rd and SS much more than what will probably happen. (never against LHP)

[Team Canada]

I would guess Murphy swaps Turang and Frelick. 7 and 8 could depend on who's hotter at the time.

[wiguy94]

1. Chourio - LF

2. Yelich - DH

3. Contreras - C

4. Turang - 2B

5. Vaughn - 1B

6. Frelick - RF

7. Mitchell/Perkins - CF

8. Rengifo/Hamilton - 3B

9. Ortiz - SS

[long ball]

I think you guys all have the right guys and general order in place. We all know that this will change over the course of the year, but it’s fun to talk about so I’ll bite. 
 

Turang

Chourio

Yelich

Contreras

Frelick

Vaughn

Mitchell

Rengifo

Ortiz

 

(I do think we will see a fair bit of Bauers in LF and Chourio in CF if Mitchell gets hurt, but I don’t think that changes the batting order construction in any meaningful way.)

[MVP2110]

1 hour ago, long ball said:

I think you guys all have the right guys and general order in place. We all know that this will change over the course of the year, but it’s fun to talk about so I’ll bite. 
 

Turang

Chourio

Yelich

Contreras

Frelick

Vaughn

Mitchell

Rengifo

Ortiz

 

(I do think we will see a fair bit of Bauers in LF and Chourio in CF if Mitchell gets hurt, but I don’t think that changes the batting order construction in any meaningful way.)

I think this is mostly correct but I expect Hamilton to platoon with Rengifo & Perkins with Mitchell. Bauers will likely also get a good amount of starts vs RHP

[Platoon Power]

Assuming health, there's not many battles for the 13 positional player roster spots.  The only open spot I see is the soft side of the CF platoon opposite Garrett Mitchell.  Perkins is an amazing defender but Lockridge might have even a higher ceiling with his 80 grade speed which can cover more ground. Grok told me that Lockridge posted a .269/.321/.462/.783 vs LHP line with the Brewers which compares favorably to the .271/.352/.438/.789 vs LHP line that Perkins put up a year ago.  I'll take the contrarian route and go with the superior speed & defense over the switch hitter.  Either way the difference is negligible.

I'd divide half the starts vs RHP between Vaughn and Bauers unless Vaughn goes crazy like he did in July & September.  This is more of a credit to Bauer's bat emerging than it's necessarily a shot at Vaughn.  Even though the .250/.320/.375/695 line that Vaughn had in August is still fresh in my mind.  

The left side of the infield will be a giant pile of yuck for a few weeks.  If you plug your nose and close your eyes you can wish Ortiz, Rengifo & Hamilton play like they did in 2024.  I'm worried about Rengifo's wrist injury being the reason he fell off the cliff so I'm not banking on him being anything more than the soft side of a platoon at 3B until Jett is ready.  If we get anything more than that from Rengifo then we're cooking with gas.  Once Jet arrives, I'm fully preparing for a Hamilton / Ortiz platoon until Made *hopefully* arrives later this year.  I think those 2 can cobble together close to league average production with elite defense when Ortiz plays and elite speed when Hamilton plays.  I just don't think Ortiz should be in the batters box as long as a RHP is on the mound unless something dramatically changes with his approach.  
 

VS RHP

C William Contreras

1B Andrew Vaughn / Jake Bauers

2B Brice Turang

SS Joey Ortiz

3B David Hamilton

LF Jackson Chourio

CF Garrett Mitchell

RF Sal Frelick

DH Christian Yelich

Bench 

C Gary Sanchez

1B/OF Jake Bauers / 1B Andrew Vaughn

IF Luis Rengifo

OF Brandon Lockridge

 

VS LHP

C Gary Sanchez

1B Andrew Vaughn

2B Brice Turang

SS Joey Ortiz

3B Luis Rengifo

LF Jackson Chourio

CF Brandon Lockridge

RF Sal Frelick

DH William Contreras

Bench

OF/DH Christian Yelich

OF Garrett Mitchell

IF David Hamilton

1B/OF Jake Bauers

[Underachiever]

Is Mitchell expected to be ready to compete at the start of Spring Training? Sorry if I missed some announcement. Is he in the best shape of his life? 

[Frisbee Slider]

On 2/15/2026 at 3:10 PM, Platoon Power said:

VS LHP

C Gary Sanchez

1B Andrew Vaughn

2B Brice Turang

SS Joey Ortiz

3B Luis Rengifo

LF Jackson Chourio

CF Brandon Lockridge

RF Sal Frelick

DH William Contreras

I don’t see a scenario where Lockridge is our primary CF against LHP. Yelich also is unlikely to be benched against lefties, even if it feels like should. 
 

Yelich had .351 OBP against LH starting pitching last season (171 PA).

[Frisbee Slider]

On 2/15/2026 at 6:00 PM, Underachiever said:

Is Mitchell expected to be ready to compete at the start of Spring Training? Sorry if I missed some announcement. Is he in the best shape of his life? 

Mitchell is cleared for baseball activities, which might be best shape in recent memory. 🙂

Should be ready for Opening Day 

[TURBO]

35 minutes ago, Frisbee Slider said:

Mitchell is cleared for baseball activities, which might be best shape in recent memory. 🙂

Should be ready for Opening Day 

What's the over/under on him hitting the IL by May 1st?

[Sugarrayray]

On 2/15/2026 at 7:51 AM, long ball said:

I think you guys all have the right guys and general order in place. We all know that this will change over the course of the year, but it’s fun to talk about so I’ll bite. 
 

Turang

Chourio

Yelich

Contreras

Frelick

Vaughn

Mitchell

Rengifo

Ortiz

 

(I do think we will see a fair bit of Bauers in LF and Chourio in CF if Mitchell gets hurt, but I don’t think that changes the batting order construction in any meaningful way.)

I think this is the ideal lineup.

I also sincerely hope Murph gives Yeli more days off against lefties this year. The reason being - although DHing puts much less wear and tear on your body, days off seem to benefit Yelich’s body a lot in holding up throughout the course of the season.  
 

Also, he did not hit lefties well enough to justify being a designated hitter against then last year. Ideally they would put The Sanchize in at catcher and force Contreras to be DH against most lefties, but I suspect Contreras will convince Murph to let him catch more than that.

I do like this lineup and although I am wary about Rengifo, I do think his offensive potential is a bit higher than Durbin’s. I think his floor is lower too.

[DR28]

Since Turang is a power hitter now, I would love to see this be our lineup:

Frelick RF

Chourio LF

Yelich DH

Contreras C

Turang 2B

Vaughn 1B

Mitchell CF

Rengifo 3B

Ortiz SS

Also, I dont get the lack of power talk...

Frelick 10 - 15 HR

Chourio, Yeli, Contreras, Turang, Vaughn, Rengifo 20+ HR

Mitchell if healthy 15-20 HR

[Playing Catch]

1 hour ago, DR28 said:

Also, I dont get the lack of power talk...

Frelick 10 - 15 HR

Chourio, Yeli, Contreras, Turang, Vaughn, Rengifo 20+ HR

Mitchell if healthy 15-20 HR

Don't forget Joey-O's age-27 career-year... 20 HRs.

[thebruce44]

5 hours ago, DR28 said:

Since Turang is a power hitter now, I would love to see this be our lineup:

Frelick RF

Chourio LF

Yelich DH

Contreras C

Turang 2B

Vaughn 1B

Mitchell CF

Rengifo 3B

Ortiz SS

Also, I dont get the lack of power talk...

Frelick 10 - 15 HR

Chourio, Yeli, Contreras, Turang, Vaughn, Rengifo 20+ HR

Mitchell if healthy 15-20 HR

I don't see the need to build the order around Yelich anymore. I would consider batting Turang or Chourio in the 3rd spot. Everyone on the team is fast, so get your best hitters as many ABs as possible at the top of the order.

[DR28]

14 hours ago, thebruce44 said:

I don't see the need to build the order around Yelich anymore. I would consider batting Turang or Chourio in the 3rd spot. Everyone on the team is fast, so get your best hitters as many ABs as possible at the top of the order.

Turang and Yeli tied for best OPS+ on team in 2025. Until Yeli starts declining, believe he'll be in the 3 hole.

The top 5, 6 (if Vaughn is same player as with us) I posted is very good.

[jay87shot]

What I think they will do

1)Turang 2)Chourio 3)Yeli 4)Contreras 5)Vaughn 6)Sal 7)Rengifo/Hamilton 8)Mitchell/Perk 9)Ortiz

What I would like 

1)Sal 2)Chourio 3) Yeli 4)Turang 5)Contreras 6)Vaughn 7)Mitchell/Perk 8)Ortiz 9)Rengifo/Hamilton

 

[BrewCrewBlueDevil]

Turang 2B

Chourio LF

Contreras C

Yelich DH

Vaughn 1B

Frelick RF

Rengifo 3B

Mitchell CF

Ortiz SS

 

[StearnsFTW]

On 2/27/2026 at 1:26 PM, jay87shot said:

What I think they will do

1)Turang 2)Chourio 3)Yeli 4)Contreras 5)Vaughn 6)Sal 7)Rengifo/Hamilton 8)Mitchell/Perk 9)Ortiz

What I would like 

1)Sal 2)Chourio 3) Yeli 4)Turang 5)Contreras 6)Vaughn 7)Mitchell/Perk 8)Ortiz 9)Rengifo/Hamilton

 

I'd be shocked if they do what you think they'll do.  Murphy is just as fond of L/R/L as Counsell was.  Whatever they do it will be the most alternating it can be I think.

My guess:

Frelick

Chourio

Yelich

Contreras

Turang

Vaughn

Mitchell

Rengifo

Ortiz