St. Louis Cardinals: Putting together the 2018 lineup

Comfort Zone: Pham stays second in the lineup

Unlike Carpenter, whose skill set is more applicable to the role of leadoff, Tommy Pham simply fits here because he hits well in the two spot traditionally. Pham was the best player on the St. Louis Cardinals last year out of the two spot, posting a team high 5.0 oWAR mostly hitting in that spot in 2017.

Whether it is comfort with the early out situations, protection behind him, or just finding a good rhythm, there is no question that Pham always seems to hit best as the number two hitter. While he isn’t an OBP revelation, he did draw 71 walks on the season, second on the team, and hitting in the low .300’s more than makes up for it.

2017: .306/.411/.520, 23 home runs, 73 RBI’s in 530 PA’s

2017 as #2 hitter: .313/.420/.520, 16 home runs, 54 RBI’s in 397 PA’s

Career as #2 hitter: .310/.414/.509, 17 home runs, 61 RBI’s in 476 PA’s

Pham acts as a reliable producer while presenting the threat to advance the leadoff Carpenter. He is also one of the few threats that the St. Louis Cardinals have on the base paths, picking up 25 steals and was caught just 7 times. This adds another dimension of layer of pressure to pitchers when having to face Ozuna, even if Carpenter is out beforehand.

Like Carpenter in the leadoff spot, Pham has spent most of his time as the second hitter in the lineup and has done better in that role than in other spots in the lineup both in 2017 and in his career in general. While his strong contact in 2017 makes it tempting to put him in the leadoff role, there’s no reason to move him out of his comfort zone with Carpenter still in the fray.