Recently GSB!’s very own Luke Stanczyk and I had a little conversation about just how good the middle of the White Sox order is. When trying to debate and rank the league’s best, the first question was “what qualifies as the middle of the order?” The best answer we could come up with is the 2-6 holes.
Yeah, I know that may not be fair for some as lots of teams have one of their best hitters leading off and lots of times very good producers hit in the 7 spot, but hey, we had to draw the line somewhere, and based on where team’s best, most productive hitters usually are, we decided on 2-6 as the “middle [or heart] of the order.”
Here’s my top four …

1. Texas Rangers
2. LA Angels of Anaheim
3. Chicago White Sox
4. New York Yankees

Although other teams like the Detroit Tigers and possibly the Boston Red Sox do deserve mention, when you look at each of the player’s numbers that are usually in those team’s middle of the order, I think the four that made the list are certainly the best.
I did consider hitters outside of just the five hitters themselves (2-6) was indeed the other hitters in the lineup, especially those immediately preceding and following the middle of the order. I figured it was too tough to not take into consideration at all other hitters in the teams lineup.
So let’s take a close look at each of ’em …

1. Texas Rangers

Always one of if not the top offense in the game, the Texas Rangers take full advantage of the hitter’s paradise they play in. While their order is dominant top-to-bottom, it’s obviously the middle of the order that does the majority of the damage.

• 2) Elvis Andrus – .298 BA, 51 RBI
• 3) Josh Hamilton – .292 BA, 35 HR, 111 RBI
• 4) Adrian Beltre – .315 BA, 25 HR, 81 RBI
• 5) Michael Young – .271 BA, 50 RBI
• 6) Nelson Cruz – 21 HR, 77 RBI

In the Rangers’ case, Ian Kinsler serves as a very productive outlet from the leadoff spot. They’ve also got very capable hitters rounding out the bottom of the order, which makes the middle of the order ever more difficult to get through. You always hear about how good the Rangers’ offense is and for many it raises the question “are they really that good? Well yeah, they really are.

2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

First I need to state that despite Mike Trout being the Halos’ leadoff hitter, it was too difficult to completely omit him from my decision here. While their middle of the order is very dangerous, the fact that pitchers have to go around Trout to start it off cemented their spot in our 2 hole for this list.

• 2) Torii Hunter – .291 BA, 12 HR, 61 RBI
• 3) Albert Pujols – .283 BA, 28 HR, 86 RBI
• 4) Mark Trumbo – .280 BA, 30 HR, 79 RBI
• 5) Kendrys Morales – 16 HR, 56 RBI
• 6) Howie Kendrick – .290 BA, 47 RBI

As you can see, the Angels really have a nice mix of youngsters and veterans … something that has definitely helped Mark Trumbo become one of the best HR hitters in the MLB, assisted Mike Trout (leading off) become the most dominant offensive player of 2012, and all while not putting too much pressure on any one of the veterans like Hunter or Morales.
The Angels are up there with the Rangers and the Tigers as far as the best 3-4 punches in the game go, and I’d actually give the benefit of the doubt to LA just because Pujols may be the most dominant hitter of our generation and generations past.

3. Chicago White Sox

Ah, here we are. For a team that many thought would finish in the cellar in 2012, this season has been a big surprise in all aspects of the game, including the offense. After some of our more seasoned veterans struggled mightily in 2011, many wrote them off as done. But those guys had a little something to say about that. Here’s a look at the numbers …

• 2) Kevin Youkilis – 51 GP, 12 HR, 38 RBI
• 3) Adam Dunn – 38 HR, 88 RBI
• 4) Paul Konerko – .319 BA, 20 HR, 61 RBI
• 5) Alex Rios – .303 BA, 20 HR, 73 RBI
• 6) AJ Pierzynski – .290 BA, 23 HR, 70 RBI

Call me biased, I don’t care; that is one scary heart of the order. I mean there’s really no drop off in this veteran-laden part of the order. You have a mix of patient hitters in Youkilis, Dunn, and Paulie and more aggressive hitters like Rios and AJ. They’ve been there before and there’s no reason to believe they’ll stop doing it too soon.
Even taking a look at the Rangers and Angels’ lineups, they’re not as balanced 2-6 as the Sox: and that’s what the south siders have going for them … balance; which is certainly something great to have in case one or two of your run producers are slumping.

4. New York Yankees

This is somewhat rare not to see the Yankees placed among the very top of the most dangerous orders in the league, and while they are still very, very dangerous, they’re just a bit behind the previous teams mentioned. After having this led off by Derek Jeter, here’s what the Bronx Bombers throw out there …

• 2) Nick Swisher – .276 BA, 20 HR, 75 RBI
• 3) Robinson Cano – .310 BA, 27 HR, 70 RBI
• 4) Mark Teixeira – 23 HR, 81 RBI
• 5) Curtis Granderson – 33 HR, 74 RBI
• 6) Eric Chavez – .295 BA, 13 HR, 32 RBI

“Why are they not higher?” is what I’m sure many of you are now asking. Well, just look player-by-player … I know they hit a lot of home runs but overall, considering all the stats you can find if you investigate further, their numbers as a whole are just not quite as good as those listed above – trust me … look into it.
I know Alex Rodriguez is usually their 3rd baseman and right in the middle of that order, but looking at right now and immediately going forward, this is what they’ve been trotting out and will continue to trot out in the near future … which is why they’re at the four spot which frankly is not a bad spot in the loaded American League.

—

So there you have it – an in depth look at the top middle of the orders in the American League, including our surprising 2012 White Sox. We know there’s a lot of talent on the pitching staff, we know the team has been very resilient, and we know the additions that General Manger Kenny Williams has brought in since June have been paramount. But don’t forget – these guys can rake, too.