2026 MLB lineup rankings: Which teams have the best bats? - ESPN

Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby, not remembered for his soft side, uttered one oft-repeated romantic quote that has stood the test of time:

«People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball,» Hornsby said. «I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.»

I know the feeling, but rather than staring out my window, I do an adult version of something I loved to do when I was a kid. Back then, I'd take my baseball cards from the previous summer and sort them out into team defensive alignments or primary batting orders, depending on my mood.

Then, when I got my copy of «The Sporting News» that had all the moves from the previous week, I'd swap cards from team to team, envisioning what the next summer would look like. These days, I don't do that with the cards, but I do love to sketch out projected lineups.

With spring training underway, those projections are starting to come into focus. While there will be further iterations between now and Opening Day, let's take a snapshot of how each team's lineup fares in the revised MLB landscape.

Grades: Hit: B+ | Patience: A | Power: A | Baserunning: A- | Durability: B+ | Depth: B | vsR: A+ | vsL: A+ | Stars: 7 | Holes: 1

Base lineup:

1. Shohei Ohtani
2. Kyle Tucker
3. Mookie Betts
4. Freddie Freeman
5. Will Smith
6. Max Muncy
7. Teoscar Hernandez
8. Tommy Edman
9. Andy Pages

Powerful. Patient. Savvy on the bases. Deep, mostly durable. Best in the majors against lefties and righties. Virtually no holes.

It's going to be another long season for Dodgers opponents.

Grades: Hit: B | Patience: B | Power: B | Baserunning: C | Durability: A- | Depth: C | vsR: A | vsL: B+ | Stars: 6 | Holes: 0

Lineup Wins are the number of games each club would project to win if