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So, the last couple of days, FTRS has examined the infield and outfield, and we have a pretty good idea of who will be starting at each position. But what about the lineup? That's what we're going to look at today. I'm going to go ahead and post what I think the starting lineup will look like and then I'll explain why I went with what I went with.
| Number | Name | Position | B/T | Height/Weight | Class |
| 35 | Daniel Spingola | CF | L/L | 6-1, 190 | Sr. |
| 15 | Connor Justus | SS | R/R | 5-11, 195 | So. |
| 14 | Matt Gonzalez | LF | R/R | 5-11, 195 | Jr. |
| 25 | Kel Johnson | DH | R/R | 6-4, 204 | Fr. |
| 9 | AJ Murray | 1B | R/R | 6-1, 216 | Sr. |
| 6 | Ryan Peurifoy | RF | R/R | 6-2, 200 | So. |
| 10 | Brandon Gold | 3B | R/R | 6-3, 202 | So. |
| 7 | Arden Pabst | C | R/R | 6-1, 199 | So. |
| 3 | Wade Bailey | 2B | R/R | 5-9, 175 | Fr. |
What I really like about this lineup is that there are only three players in it that are not a freshman or sophomore. It's awesome to have a lineup this young.
The leadoff spot was really a no-brainer. Spingola lead off for most, if not all, of the season last year and, needless to say, he did pretty well. The only other person I really considered for the spot was Wade Bailey, but with Spingola's experience leading off and Bailey's ability to turn the lineup over from nine-spot, I decided to go with that.
I also considered putting Bailey in the two-hole. But again, with his ability to turn the lineup over from the nine-spot, I elected to go with Justus to take the spot.
Three-hole and clean-up were both a no-brainer. Matt Gonzalez and Kel Johnson will form a formidable 3-4 combo.
In the five-hole, I went with AJ Murray. He's our next-best power hitter and he'll definitely get playing time regardless of position.
After that, it was just a matter of how much I trusted each player with the bat and my version of the lineup reflects that, with the exception of Bailey in the nine-spot which I've already explained.
Things will change, though, when Thomas Smith gets put into the lineup. Depending on who is sitting out on a given day will determine which spot Smith holds.
The three main guys he will be cycling with are AJ Murray, Kel Johnson and Wade Bailey. For Murray, I'd put Smith in Murray's spot. For Johnson, I'd push Murray into the clean-up spot and let Smith hit fifth. For Bailey, I'd put Smith sixth and drop everyone else.
What's your predicted line-up?