When thinking about the best lineups in all of baseball a few names come to mind. The reigning World Series Champion Boston Red Sox had one of the most well rounded lineups in all of baseball in 2013 and obviously helped them win the title, but they are not on this list. The St. Louis Cardinals won the National League pennant behind a team of solid and consistent hitters, but they are not on this list. The New York Yankees spent more money that anyone this offseason to get back into the playoffs, but they are not on this list. The teams on this list are some of the most potent offenses in the league, and they have a solid core or added the pieces to their team to take them to the next level.
5. Washington Nationals
In 2012 the Washington Nationals were a top ten offense and in 2013 they looked to get better. They brought back Adam LaRoche after a season where he won both the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards for first base in the NL and finished sixth in voting for the NL MVP. They lost slugger Michael Morse to free agency but filled a need for a true leadoff hitter when they acquired Denard Span from the Minnesota Twins. Both struggled in 2013, though, and the offense fell down. In 2014 expect this lineup to mesh after a year together and with a healthy Bryce Harper to be one of the most dominant offenses in the league.
4. Colorado Rockies
The Rockies always have one of the best offenses in the league because they play half of their games at home where the ball flies out of the stadium, and although they didn’t make the playoffs and struggled with injury, 2013 was no different.
There is no reason to believe that 2014 will break the trend, and barring injury, the lineup they are fielding will be one of the best in the league. They will be bringing back the entire lineup other than retired first baseman Todd Helton and they replaced him with former MVP Justin Morneau. Health will be a serious concern with Morneau as well as returning stars Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki, but when healthy this may be the best lineup in the league.
3. Detroit Tigers
For the last two seasons the Tigers were the best offense in the league which is no surprise considering they had the MVP of the AL both years. They will drop off slightly this year, though, as Miguel Cabrera’s protection in the lineup, Prince Fielder, was traded to the Texas Rangers to fill voids at second base and the leadoff position in the lineup.
That trade is the reason they don’t fall far, because while Ian Kinsler has dropped off after his 30-30 season he is still a 20-20 threat who gets on base and scored runs. This allows Austin Jackson who has struggled as the leadoff hitter to be moved down in the order and take some of the pressure off of him so that he can continue to improve and hopefully return to form.
Another key addition was the signing of Rajai Davis who will likely split time with Andy Dirks but gives them one of the most dangerous stolen base threats in the league. In the end, they may drop off, but they will be more of a complete lineup and that could make them even more dangerous come playoff time.
2. Texas Rangers
This could be dead on, or could be a complete fail, but if everything clicks this offense will be the best offense in the entire league. The top of the order will now be led by new acquisition Shin-Soo Choo who did nothing but get on base and score runs during his one season with the Cincinnati Reds and he did it when he was healthy with the Cleveland Indians too.
In addition to Choo the Rangers replaced the bat of slugger Nelson Cruz with more impressive slugger Prince Fielder. When you add those two to an already strong core that consists of all-stars Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus you have a strong start to the order, but they’re not alone.
They also signed catcher J.P. Arencibia who has hit an average of 21 home runs a year over the last three seasons and those numbers should increase with the jet stream in Arlington. To top off the order the team is full of youngsters full of potential like Leonys Martin and Jurickson Profar.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers are the best offense in all of baseball until further notice. They are the only team in baseball that has too many all-star caliber players that they may have to trade one.
Up and down the lineup it is hard to find a weakness as they have three MVP caliber players, multiple all-stars and a catcher that has proven to be a true leader of the pitching staff. The only true weakness in the line-up that I can find is the up and down career of Juan Uribe and the unknown of Cuban rookie Alex Guerrero.
In 2013 it took half a season, or until Yasiel Puig came up from the minors, for the offense to really click, but now this team has had a full offseason together and if they shoot out of the gates like they did in the second half of 2013 they could be untouchable.