2009 Projected Lineups - American League

Here is my first stab at projecting the lineups in the American League (NL to follow soon). Obviously, this is an incredibly difficult and imprecise task. Things will change immensely between now and opening day. Also, I'm not psychic and I don't know what all of these managers are thinking. But this is very important information when you're trying to project runs and RBI. A player is significantly more valuable hitting in the third or fourth spots, than the eighth or ninth spots.

If you see anything that is obviously wrong, please let me know. I'm especially interesting in links to quotes by managers indicating where they intend to put particular players in the lineup.

• I found the most difficult lineups to be: White Sox, Indians, A's, Mariners, and Blue Jays, so I'd really like to hear from anyone who thinks they have a better idea than I do.

Things that stand out (assuming these lineups are correct):

• Markakis may not drive in as many runs as I thought.
• If Hafner can stay healthy, I may be undervaluing him.
• Alex Gordon and Billy Butler in the middle of the order is very attractive.
• The Twins outfield is crowded. I didn't include Denard Span, but it seems hard to believe that the Twins wouldn't find playing time for him. Is Young the odd man out? Or will a Cuddyer injury solve the problem?
• If Nady hits behind Teixeira and A-Rod, he could drive in a ton of runs.
• With Ibanez gone, Lopez and Beltre will probably be counted on even more to drive in runs.
• The Rangers lineup is stacked. Whoever gets to hit fourth behind Hamilton should get RBI aplenty. Keep an eye on who gets that spot. If it's Nelson Cruz, then I like him even more than I thought.
• From what I can tell, the Blue Jays like Rios hitting third. That makes me happy. I was afraid he was going to get stuck hitting leadoff or #2. Third means lots of RBI.