Who Should Hit Behind Mike Trout?

Early scoring opportunities are great and Schaneul has one of the higher on base percentages on the team. If Trout reaches safely, there is a 35% chance Nolan will join him. Getting two men on base is better than getting one.

Also, Mike Trout is showing elite speed again so having a low strikeout rate behind Trout is nice. Schanuel's 12% K rate is nearly half of the MLB average of 23%. So if Trout reaches base, there's a really good chance Schanuel puts the ball in play and lets Mike use his speed on the basepaths.

Baseball 101 also comes into play. If the first baseman is holding Mike Trout at the bag, that creates a huge hole for the lefty Schanuel to pull a single to right field. When that happens, Trout can advance to third base on a regular basis.

The realy con here is that Schaneul posseses little power. Unless Trout reaches second or third base it will likely take a Schanuel single plus one more hit to get him home.

A lefty with more pop would be best when facing a right hander.

If you put a left handed hitter with the same on base percentage as Schanuel but a slugging percentage over 100 points higher that would be ideal. Last season Yoan Moncada posted a .344 OPB against righties, very near Nolan's .354. However, Moncada out slugged Schanuel to the tune of .471 to .363

By placing Moncada behind Trout, the Angels would maintain the advantage of the hole to right field, maintain the same odds of having a teammate join him on base, but significantly increase the odds of driving Trout home in a single at bat.

Last year Moncada out homered Schanuel 12 to 10 against righties despite having almost 200 fewer plate appearances.

There is an unexpected answer against a lefty.

Jo Adell mashes lefties. His slash line against southpaws last season was .277/.346/.585 with 7 home runs and 6 doubles in 94 at bats. He also worked 10 walks in 104 plate appearances.

Putting Adell behind Trout when the team is facing a lefty would be ideal and give Trout significant lineup protection. A walk to Trout could turn into a two run homer with one swing of Adell's bat.

Jo had a huge power surge last year and there are reasons to believe it could continue. For now, putting the best lefty masher in the lineup behind the best overall bat would be the ideal roster for the Angels.

As for Nolan, put the guy who gets on base a ton in front of Mike Trout. It is never a bad idea to give your power bats chances with men on base.