Ostrowski: Rollins should be replaced as No. 2 hitter
There's this one thing that's been irritating about the team that has the most wins in the American League and second most in all of baseball. It happens every time Robin Ventura's lineup is posted.
With the Sox winning ways and a top ten offense in runs scored and on-base percentage, it shouldn't be this bothersome, but it is.
They say "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." There is something broken about the White Sox's batting order.
Why is Jimmy Rollins the number two hitter? No matter what the matchup is, Ventura continues to trot out his 37-year old shortstop in one of the most important spots in the lineup any time he plays. Can anyone explain this?
Rollins is ninth in batting average and on-base percentage on his own team. This isn't an example of a small sample size. His .236 average and .299 OBP are close to Rollins' numbers over the last five seasons, with less power.
With runners in scoring position, Rollins is hitting just .150. It's fair to point out that it's only 20 at-bats. But last year, he had a .136 avg and .200 OBP in the same situation. Going back to 2014, not much better hitting .218 with RISP.
The White Sox have three options in their lineup that would be a substantial improvement over Rollins to hit behind Adam Eaton:
1. Jose Abreu
This may look like it goes against conventional baseball strategy, but not in 2016. Elite players like Josh Donaldson, Manny Machado, Andrew McCutchen, and Mike Trout hit second.
In 2015, the second spot in the Sox's batting order had 12 more plate appearances than the third hitter. The third spot in the lineup had 20 additional plate appearances than the fourth hitter.
Moving Abreu and Todd Frazier up a spot is the equivalent of getting seven to eight more games of offense from these power hitters. Abreu's .331 OBP and five home runs are below his career norms, but those numbers should increase as the weather warms up.
Frazier is hitting only .220, but he's on pace for 53 homers. The third baseman also has just a .192 batting average of balls in ball. His BABIP is sixth lowest in the majors, which means he's been unlucky with the balls that haven't gone over the outfield wall.
2. Brett Lawrie
Ventura usually has Lawrie hit sixth. His .364 OBP is the third highest on the team and seventh best among all second basemen. Lawrie has also doubled his walk rate up to 12-percent this season. The concern is that his .390 BABIP is 12th highest in MLB.
3. Melky Cabrera
A switch hitter that only trails Eaton in OBP on the team. The number two hitter had 47 more plate appearances than the fifth hitter for the Sox a year ago.
Rollins has helped improve the team defense up the middle and his offensive numbers show that he's an average shortstop late in his career. Being in the lineup for about 120 games isn't a problem. Rollins hitting second is a problem.
• Joe Ostrowski is a co-host of the "Hit & Run" baseball show from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on WSCR 670-AM The Score with Barry Rozner. Follow him on Twitter@JoeO670.