Ranking the Starting Lineup of Every 2023 MLB Playoff Team

After a regular season in which hits, home runs and stolen bases all became more prevalent, one thing you should see plenty of in Major League Baseball's 2023 postseason is offense.

And since some of the 12 surviving teams from the American League and National League figure to provide more of it than others, what's say we rank their lineups?

Set starting lineups aren't as common as they used to be, so this process started with going to Roster Resource and taking their word for it on which starting nine is each team's go-to.

Apart from that, it was a simple matter of weighing the usual things. General statistics. Star power. Strengths and weaknesses. You know, all that stuff.

Now then, let's count 'em down.

See also: Ranking the Pitching Staff of Every 2023 MLB Playoff Team

Go-To Lineup

1. 2B Luis Arraez (L)
2. DH Jorge Soler (R)
3. 1B Josh Bell (S)
4. CF Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L)
5. 3B Jake Burger (R)
6. LF Bryan De La Cruz (LF)
7. RF Jesús Sánchez (L)
8. SS Jon Berti (R)
9. C Nick Fortes (R)

What Are Its Strengths?

Miami's starting nine has at least two things going for it: The best hitter in baseball and sneaky potential.

All Arraez did this year was hit .354, or 106 points better than the league-wide average of .248. Keeping him off the bases in front of Soler, who hit 36 home runs, will be key for the Philadelphia Phillies and any other team Miami encounters.

Bell and Burger deepened the Marlins lineup after they joined at the trade deadline, combining for an .839 OPS and 20 homers. It will look even deeper if Chisholm, otherwise known as this year's MLB The Show cover boy, makes the most of his power and speed.

What Are Its Weaknesses?

The upside may be there, but the reality is that the Marlins were a light-hitting team all year. They scored the fewest runs of any team in the National League, and there was no substantial improvement even after Bell and Burger came aboard.

There's also the question of Arraez's health, as the twisted left ankle that he sustained on Sep. 23 kept him out of the starting lineup for all seven of the games that came after it.

Go-To Lineup

1. LF Christian Yelich (L)
2. C William Contreras (R)
3. 1B Carlos Santana (S)
4. DH Mark Canha (R)
5. CF Sal Frelick (L)
6. SS Willy Adames (R)
7. 3B Josh Donaldson (R)
8. 2B Brice Turang (L)
9. RF Tyrone Taylor (R)

What Are Its Strengths?

Say what you will about Milwaukee's offense, but at least it finished the year stronger than it started it.

The Brewers went into July with a .676 OPS, but from then on they put up a .733 OPS with an average of 5.0 runs per game. This was a span in which Adames finally busted out the power and Santana and Canha made meaningful contributions after the deadline.

There's also some speed here, as Yelich and Turang both topped 25 stolen bases. And as evidenced by their eighth-ranked .790 OPS with runners in scoring position, the Brewers also aren't totally incapable of hitting in the clutch.

What Are Its Weaknesses?

Put it this way, the Brewers aren't going to slug the Arizona Diamondbacks or anyone else to death. They hit one fewer home run than the Marlins this year and slugged just .385 as a team. Among NL clubs, only the San Francisco Giants did worse.

It could also matter that the Brewers are lousy at hitting fastballs. Because whenever Zac Gallen takes the hill in the Wild Card Series, he'll be brandishing one of the best in MLB.

Go-To Lineup

1. RF Corbin Carroll (L)
2. 2B Ketel Marte (S)
3. LF Tommy Pham (R)
4. 1B Christian Walker (R)
5. CF Alek Thomas (L)
6. DH Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (R)
7. C Gabriel Moreno (R)
8. 3B Jace Peterson (L)
9. SS Geraldo Perdomo (S)

What Are Its Strengths?

If any team is going to challenge the conventional wisdom for what kind of offense works in October, it's the Diamondbacks.

Between 2015 and 2022, teams that hit home runs tended to do the best in the postseason. But since the bigger bases and the shift ban led to more hits and more stolen bases this year, the D-backs' more long-form style of offense might work just fine.

They only hit 166 home runs, but they averaged 4.6 runs through such means as running the bases and making productive outs. And also because they have Carroll, who put himself among MLB's top offensive threats by homering 25 times and stealing 54 bases.

What Are Its Weaknesses?

If Carroll is great, then Marte (.844 OPS, 25 HR) and Walker (.830 OPS, 33 HR) are good. But apart from those three, Arizona's lineup lacks hitters who are liable to scare anyone.

It's also coming in on the cold side. Though the Snakes scored well overall, they limped to the finish with a .690 OPS and an average of 4.1 runs per game in the last three months of the regular season.

Go-To Lineup

1. 2B Edouard Julien (L)
2. 3B Jorge Polanco (S)
3. DH Alex Kirilloff (L)
4. RF Max Kepler (L)
5. 1B Donovan Solano (R)
6. C Ryan Jeffers (R)
7. LF Matt Wallner (L)
8. SS Kyle Farmer (R)
9. CF Michael A. Taylor (R)

What Are Its Strengths?

Three players who notably aren't represented here are Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis. Any one of them could make a sizable impact on October if their respective injuries allow them to, but for now only Correa is expected to be available right away.

But lest anyone sleep on this offense, the Twins were second in the AL in scoring after the All-Star break. Lewis was one of the main drivers of that effort, but not as much as Julien, Polanco, Kepler and Wallner. Collectively, those four were 40 percent better than average in the second half.

Notably, the Twins offense was actually better against winning teams than against losing clubs during the regular season. They will, of course, only face the former in October.

What Are Its Weaknesses?

Only one team can lead the majors in strikeouts every year, and this year that was the Twins with 1,654 of the darn things.

And no, even the second half didn't steer them from this course. They had the third-highest strikeout rate in all of MLB after the break. Of the four hitters noted above, Kepler is the only one who kept his strikeout rate south of 25 percent.

Go-To Lineup

1. RF George Springer (R)
2. DH Brandon Belt (L)
3. 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (R)
4. SS Bo Bichette (R)
5. 2B Cavan Biggio (L)
6. C Alejandro Kirk (R)
7. CF Kevin Kiermaier (L)
8. 3B Matt Chapman (R)
9. LF Daulton Varsho (L)

What Are Its Strengths?

If you're judging it solely by how it looks on paper, this Blue Jays offense sure seems overpowering.

Guerrero is a hard-hit ball waiting to happen when he's at the plate, yet even he wasn't as good as Chapman at generating hard contact this season. Bichette has settled into a niche as a .300 hitter with 20-homer power. And then there's Springer, who's tied for fifth on the all-time playoff home run list.

Individuals aside, the other thing to know about the Blue Jays offense is that it doesn't fear the road. It produced 5.0 runs per game away from home this season, with a .766 OPS that ranked fifth out of all teams.

What Are Its Weaknesses?

Of course, that the Blue Jays finished slightly below the league average in scoring gives you an idea how much their offense struggled at the Rogers Centre.

That partly speaks to how all that name value somehow didn't translate to actual value. And after they hit more than all but two other teams across 2021 and 2022, it's especially frustrating that the Blue Jays managed only 188 home runs all year.

Go-To Lineup

1. SS Gunnar Henderson (L)
2. C Adley Rutschman (S)
3. DH Anthony Santander (S)
4. 1B Ryan O'Hearn (L)
5. RF Aaron Hicks (S)
6. CF Cedric Mullins (L)
7. LF Austin Hays (R)
8. 2B Adam Frazier (L)
9. 3B Jordan Westburg (R)

What Are Its Strengths?

Alas, the Orioles aren't much of a power-hitting team. None of their hitters cracked 30 home runs and as a whole they finished in the back half of the league with 183 long balls.

And yet, the Orioles scored just south of 5.0 runs per game. What they lacked in power they made up for with things like elite baserunning, productive outs and especially with a league-best .287 average with runners in scoring position.

A more hidden element of Baltimore's offensive strength is how well manager Brandon Hyde pulls the levers he has at his disposal. Orioles hitters had the platoon advantage 68.6 percent of the time this year, far and away the highest mark in MLB.

What Are Its Weaknesses?

In addition to home run power, another shortcoming of this Orioles offense is its ability to draw walks. It tied for the 19th-highest walk rate in the league.

It's also not the biggest shocker that a predominantly young offense like Baltimore's has a hard time against offspeed pitches. By run value, the only playoff team less productive against offspeed this season was Miami.

Go-To Lineup

1. 1B Yandy Díaz (R)
2. 3B Junior Caminero (R)
3. LF Randy Arozarena (R)
4. 1B Josh Lowe (L)
5. 2B Isaac Paredes (R)
6. DH Jonathan Aranda (L)
7. SS Taylor Walls (S)
8. CF Manuel Margot (R)
9. C René Pinto (R)

What Are Its Strengths?

Only three teams scored more often than the Rays did this season, and it's almost astonishing how many different guys can claim a chunk of credit for that.

Led by Paredes and his 31 long balls, 10 different players reached double-digit home runs for the Rays this season. They also had four players steal at least 20 bases, resulting in the best combination of power and speed to be found in this year's playoff field.

Are the Rays also clutch? You bet the Rays are also clutch. Their .285 average with runners in scoring position ranked second to only the Orioles.

What Are Its Weaknesses?

Of course, all that is the big-picture perspective of the Rays offense. It doesn't look as pretty up close, as Brandon Lowe, Jose Siri and Luke Raley are out with injuries and Díaz, who won the AL batting title with a .330 average, needed extra rest at the end of the year.

Further, Rays hitters can be made to look foolish. Of the 12 teams left standing, they had the highest chase and swinging-strike rates this season.

Go-To Lineup

1. DH Kyle Schwarber (L)
2. SS Trea Turner (R)
3. 1B Bryce Harper (L)
4. 3B Alec Bohm (R)
5. 2B Bryson Stott (L)
6. C J.T. Realmuto (R)
7. RF Nick Castellanos (R)
8. LF Brandon Marsh (L)
9. CF Johan Rojas (R)

What Are Its Strengths?

A day after Phillies fans showed their wholesome side by giving Turner a standing ovation at Citizens Bank Park on Aug. 4, everything changed for him and the team.

From Aug. 5 through the end of the season, Turner racked up a 1.069 OPS and 16 homers to help the Phillies rank second in runs and first in home runs during that span. Schwarber and Harper also had a lot to do with it, teaming up for 36 long balls.

This Phillies offense is also more athletic than it gets credit for. Though its reputation is as a slug-first offense, this year saw it steal 141 bases with third-best success rate in the majors.

What Are Its Weaknesses?

Even if the Phillies offense isn't as susceptible to strikeouts as that of the Twins, their hitters are more prone to expanding the strike zone. That usually works out better for the pitcher than the hitter.

Otherwise, it's doubtful that anyone will be surprised to hear that the Phillies' OPS was 49 points higher at home than on the road. They do play in a bandbox, after all.

Go-To Lineup

1. 2B Jose Altuve (R)
2. 3B Alex Bregman (R)
3. DH Yordan Álvarez (L)
4. RF Kyle Tucker (L)
5. 1B José Abreu (R)
6. LF Michael Brantley (L)
7. CF Chas McCormick (R)
8. SS Jeremy Peña (R)
9. C Martin Maldonado (R)

What Are Its Strengths?

It just wouldn't be an Astros offense if it wasn't good at putting the ball in play and hitting for power. They ranked third from the bottom in strikeout rate and sixth from the top in slugging.

Houston is also coming in hot after scoring an AL-high 410 runs in the second half of the season. Altuve, Bregman, Álvarez and Tucker were all clicking, ultimately teaming up to be 60 percent better than average with 54 home runs.

It also bears noting that one of the Astros' top hitters isn't even named above. That's Yainer Diaz, who surely earned his share of playoff at-bats with the .846 OPS and 23 homers he posted in the regular season.

What Are Its Weaknesses?

Houston's offense is undeniably good but also undeniably top-heavy. Save for McCormick, who had an .842 OPS and 22 homers this year, there are no truly dangerous hitters to be found after that explosive front four.

Its right-handedness is another potential issue, particularly if the opposition is running out a right-handed starter. The Astros had a .732 OPS against righty starters this year, compared to an .845 OPS against lefty starters.

Go-To Lineup

1. 2B Marcus Semien (R)
2. SS Corey Seager (L)
3. DH Mitch Garver (R)
4. RF Adolis García (R)
   
5. 1B Nathaniel Lowe (L)
6. 3B Josh Jung (R)
7. C Jonah Heim (S)
8. CF Leody Taveras (S)
9. LF Evan Carter (L)

What Are Its Strengths?

The Rangers led the American League in both runs and home runs, but apart from that their offense isn't so dangerous.

In all seriousness, the Rangers arguably have both the best overall hitter and the best slugger on the American League side of the playoff bracket. The former is Seager, who put up a 1.013 OPS with 33 home runs. The latter is García, who cranked 39 home runs.

There's also Semien, who led the AL in both hits and runs, and the secret weapon of the bunch: Garver. From the start of June through the end of the year, he was the Rangers' second-best hitter after Seager.

What Are Its Weaknesses?

Though the Rangers have power in abundance, what they don't have as much of is speed. Their 79 stolen bases in the regular season mark the lowest total of any playoff team.

It could also prove to be critical that the Rangers missed out on winning the AL West and securing the No. 2 seed. The gap between their OPS at home and their OPS on the road was 107 points wide, the largest this side of the Colorado Rockies.

Go-To Lineup

1. 2B Mookie Betts (R)
2. 1B Freddie Freeman (L)
3. C Will Smith (R)
4. 3B Max Muncy (L)
5. DH J.D. Martinez (R)
6. RF Jason Heyward (L)
7. CF James Outman (L)
8. LF David Peralta (L)
9. SS MIguel Rojas (R)

What Are Its Strengths?

The last thing any pitcher wants to look up and see is Betts and Freeman leading off a game. Among qualified hitters, they ranked fifth and sixth in OPS at .987 and .976, respectively.

The other key hitter in the Dodgers lineup is Martinez. He was largely missing in action in August, but he returned in September to post a 1.050 OPS and eight homers in 21 games.

It's otherwise not great analysis to say the Dodgers offense is just plain good, but it is. They ranked second in MLB in runs and home runs and also specialized in things such as avoiding double plays, making productive outs and hitting with runners in scoring position.

What Are Its Weaknesses?

This offense isn't quite coming into October on fire. Its OPS dropped from .863 in August to .762 in September, in part because Betts' power went missing as he hit just one home run.

It's also fair to say that nobody else in this starting nine has the same sort of threat level as Betts, Freeman and Martinez. That even includes Muncy, who blasted 36 home runs but also hit just .212 with a .333 on-base percentage.

Go-To Lineup

1. RF Ronald Acuña Jr.  (R)
2. 2B Ozzie Albies (S)
3. 3B Austin Riley (R)
4. 1B Matt Olson (L)
5. DH Marcell Ozuna (R)
6. CF Michael Harris II (L)
7. C Sean Murphy (R)
8. LF Eddie Rosario (L)
9. SS Orlando Arcia (R)

What Are Its Strengths?

Atlanta tied the single-season record by hitting 307 home runs and led the majors in runs, hits, batting average and both on-base and slugging percentage. That answer your question?

There are no easy outs here, least of all up top and in the cleanup spot. Acuña made hitting 41 homers and stealing 73 bases look way too easy, while Olson was generally relentless in tallying a league-leading 54 homers.

Those two were indeed so dominant that they managed to force even Albies, Ozuna and Riley under the radar. They hit 110 home runs, with Ozuna embarking on one of the quieter 40-homer seasons in recent memory.

What Are Its Weaknesses?

Atlanta went 5-13 in the 18 games that they somehow didn't homer in, and a modest 32-26 in games wherein they went deep only once. So if a team can limit them to zero or, at most, one home run, said team has a shot.

That's frankly all anyone can offer under the circumstances. This is truly one of the best offenses of all time and thus not one that will be easily silenced.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.