The Los Angeles Dodgers were an offensive powerhouse in 2020, but the New York Mets and New York Yankees were not far behind.
The three lineups should be elite this MLB season, as well, as they boast elite talent at nearly all positions.
Best 3 Lineups For The 2021 Season
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers made the news this offseason by signing Trevor Bauer to a record-breaking deal, further improving an already elite rotation.
However, their lineup is not too shabby, and in fact, may be the best unit in Major League Baseball even though there were no notable additions prior to the season.
The Dodgers have three hitters that could be MVP candidates when all is said and done: Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger, and Corey Seager.
Additionally, they have uber-prospect Gavin Lux ready to take over second base, and other excellent batters such as AJ Pollock, Edwin Rios, Will Smith, and Max Muncy.
The Dodgers led the league in wRC+ last season.
Weighted Runs Created Plus, or wRC+, is a stat that measures offensive value above or below average, with the “average” player or team having a 100 wRC+.
Los Angeles paced the league with a 122 wRC+ in 2020, meaning that they were 22% better than the average.
Here is the projected Dodgers’ lineup:
RF Mookie Betts
SS Corey Seager
CF Cody Bellinger
C Will Smith
1B Max Muncy
LF AJ Pollock
2B Gavin Lux
New York Mets
The New York Mets finished last season with a 121 wRC+, second behind the Dodgers in MLB.
The Mets’ lineup was already top-notch, and considering the fact that Pete Alonso and JD Davis struggled for most of last season and should rebound this year, it can be even better in 2021.
Impressively, the Mets were able to further improve the unit by bringing Francisco Lindor and his lifetime 118 wRC+ to the top of the order.
Full trade, per sources:
To Mets: Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco.
To Indians: Amed Rosario, Andrés Giménez, Josh Wolf, Isaiah Greene.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 7, 2021
The Mets led the league in batting average during the shortened 2020 campaign, and slashed an impressive .272/.348/.459.
For this season, the Mets upgraded both the catcher and shortstop positions by bringing James McCann and Lindor, and kept most of the offensive core that made the offense great last season.
Dominic Smith, Jeff McNeil, Brandon Nimmo, Alonso, Michael Conforto, and Davis will be back for another season.
Here is the New York Mets’ projected lineup:
CF Brandon Nimmo
SS Francisco Lindor
RF Michael Conforto
1B Pete Alonso
LF Dominic Smith
2B Jeff McNeil
3B JD Davis
C James McCann
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees led the American League in wRC+ last season with 116 and finished fourth overall behind the Dodgers, Mets, and the Atlanta Braves
However, they were without their two best hitters, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, for the majority of the games.
Having those two back, each with a 50-homer season in their past will be huge for the unit.
Gleyber Torres showed up in shape this spring training, unlike last season’s summer camp, and looks poised for a huge rebound season.
Aaron Boone says he met w/ Cressey, the team's head strength guy, and Gleyber Torres is "in great shape. He looks good. He's moving well." Came into last year's regular season out of shape, Cashman said in the offseason.
— Brendan Kuty (@BrendanKutyNJ) February 24, 2021
DJ LeMahieu is also back, and other stars such as Luke Voit, Gary Sanchez, Aaron Hicks, Clint Frazier and Gio Urshela will be returning as well.
Here is the Yankees’ projected lineup:
2B DJ LeMahieu
RF Aaron Judge
CF Aaron Hicks
DH Giancarlo Stanton
1B Luke Voit
SS Gleyber Torres
3B Gio Urshela
C Gary Sanchez
LF Clint Frazier
NEXT: 3 Bold Predictions For The 2021 MLB Season
