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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Before Tony Vitello and Co. settle on a primary lineup, they’ll have to settle on whether Luis Arráez is the leadoff hitter.
The Giants could either utilize Arráez’s elite contact skills and hit him first or take advantage of his high batting average with runners in scoring position and bat him in the middle of the order.
It’s the single biggest talking point when it comes to the Giants’ lineup. Once Arráez is slotted into a spot, it’ll be easier to determine the rest of the names.
“I think it could be anywhere in the lineup,” Vitello said. “As soon as he signed, everybody in the building had a theory.”
Vitello might be OK with Arráez leading off. It’s where he batted him three times in four games before the second baseman left camp to play in the World Baseball Classic.
“It’s kind of easy to say he’s got some of that profile to him,” Vitello said. “He’s an annoying hitter to pitch to. So to start a game like that is something that has appeal.”
New hitting coach Hunter Mense, while noting it’s not his job to make the lineup, sees Arráez’s value as a run producer, which would suggest he could be better served in the middle of the lineup. Indeed, Arráez’s career average with runners in scoring position is a whopping .349 (.837 OPS), even better than his overall average of .317 (.777 OPS).
“I would put him in a spot where he’s going to have a ton of opportunities,” Mense said. “I believe that his best attribute is being able to drive in runs. He gets a lot of hits, and being able to score guys from third base or second base with two outs oftentimes requires a hit. I just want him in those situations. I don’t know what the rest of the lineup around him looks like, but I want him in those spots as many times as we can get him.”
Thus the dilemma.
Arráez said he’ll hit wherever, “but I like [being the] leadoff hitter.” It’s where he has batted for most of his career (417 starts — second most is the No. 2 slot, 171 starts). “I just need to get on base for those guys,” he said, “try to make the job easier for them.”
From this corner, we prefer Arráez opening the season as the leadoff hitter. Now the trick is figuring out what’s next.
In the olden days, a team’s premier hitter batted third — from Babe Ruth and Ted Williams to Willie Mays and Hank Aaron to Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Bonds. No longer. In the analytics age, the best hitter bats second, regarded as the optimal spot in the lineup to generate runs. Unless you’re the Dodgers and bat Shohei Ohtani leadoff just to get him to the plate ASAP.
The Giants’ best hitter is Rafael Devers, who’s currently nursing a bum hamstring, and the No. 2 spot is perfect for him. It’s where he spent most of last season, and, as Vitello said, “The guy’s kind of willing to do whatever. The willingness factor is pretty high there. So in my conversations with him, he’s kind of deferred to the coaching staff.”
Willy Adames, who last year became the first Giant since Bonds to hit 30 homers, is the No. 3 man. He’s showing a different approach at the plate with fewer moving parts — more upright in the box, slightly more open stance, reduced leg kick — in a bid to catch up to pitchers’ high velocities and avoid the rotten start he endured in 2025.
Both Devers and Adames set career highs in strikeouts last season, 192 and 179, respectively, but while Buster Posey is trying to emphasize more contact in the lineup, he’s not about to tinker with his two best sluggers.
Same with the hitting coach, who was hired from Toronto, where his contact-happy lineup made it all the way to Game 7 of the World Series.
“If we score a ton of runs and they still strike out a bunch, but have career years, you’re still sitting here probably at the end of the year having a pretty good conversation about what we did offensively, right?” Mense said.
Cleanup hitter? This one’s tricky. Matt Chapman is an option as the next best power guy, but he batted only .192 with runners in scoring position with 43 strikeouts in 120 at-bats in 2025.
Let’s go with Heliot Ramos instead, the only right-handed hitter in Oracle Park’s 26-year history to homer into McCovey Cove on a fly. He was 7-for-11 with four extra-base hits before heading to the WBC and vows to be the first player since Bonds to start in left field in consecutive season openers, breaking the 18-year drought.
More than that, he hit better with runners in scoring position than Chapman with a lower strikeout rate.
Mense said Ramos’ supreme bat speed should allow him to “use the whole yard to go out at any point. For him, it’s helping him understand and unlock that superpower.”
Who’s No. 5? Are you sitting down? It’s Mr. Bryce Eldridge. The 21-year-old with the long frame and lethal swing. Posey takes chances. He signed Adames for $182 million. He took on $250 million of Devers’ contract. He hired Vitello. If it’s about stacking the lineup with as many dangerous hitters as possible to give the Giants the best chance for a quick start, Eldridge is in the Opening Day lineup.
Bryce Eldridge made his MLB debut in September. | Source: Courtesy of San Francisco Giants
In the Team USA exhibition, he crushed a 112-mph drive to deep center off Paul Skenes, and the next day he scorched a 113-mph liner over shortstop that got to the outfield wall in a hurry, an opposite-field double off a lefty. On Friday, Eldridge hit a 109-mph triple off a lefty and improved his OPS to 1.021 in Cactus League play. His defense is far better (take a bow, Ron Washington), and by sticking in the big leagues, he’d continue to receive everyday tutoring from the dynamic infield coach.
Let the kid open as the designated hitter and play first base once or twice a week to give Devers some time at DH.
Today
3 days ago
Friday, Feb. 27
“The ceiling is about as high as anybody in the big leagues,” Mense said.
Next is Chapman, a power bat at No. 6. Then Jung Hoo Lee, whose aim is to transform his elite bat-to-ball skills into better overall numbers — he’d be wise to embrace every nuance about hitting from Arráez. Then newcomer Harrison Bader, who’s coming off a career year. Finally, Patrick Bailey, who’s hoping to carry over his impressive September.
The primary lineup
1. Arráez
2. Devers
3. Adames
4. Ramos
5. Eldridge
6. Chapman
7. Lee
8. Bader
9. Bailey
Left, left, right, right, left, right, left, right, switch. Not a bad alignment against right-handed starters.
Against lefties
Of course, the Yankees are expected to start a lefty (Max Fried) in the March 25 opener at Oracle Park. Arráez doesn’t hit lefties nearly as well as righties, so some tweaks are in order:
1. Ramos
2. Devers
3. Adames
4. Chapman
5. Arráez
6. Jerar Encarnación or Casey Schmitt at DH until Eldridge shows he can beat up on lefties
7. Lee
8. Bader
9. Bailey
Unfortunately for Vitello, he’s unable to see all his everyday guys because half of them are in the WBC: Arráez, Ramos, Lee, and Bader. Once everyone is back and Devers is healthy, the rookie manager no doubt will collaborate with the front office and analytics department to hash out a lineup.
Until further notice, it all starts with Arráez.
“What his best spot is, hopefully we know within the first portion of the season,” Vitello said, “but it might turn into something different as the season goes on.”