Lineup simulator

Cool site: http://lineupsimulator.com/ Someone posted a link to this over at Fangraphs recently. I've emailed the author to ask for more details about assumptions -- should we add in HBP to walks, ROE to singles, etc., but I'm convinced a sim is the proper way to analyze lineups, rather than some theoretical analysis such as The Book (Tom Tango, et. al.) I've played with a couple of lineups -- 2010 Reds, and a fictional "typical" one -- and so far it looks like that a high-average, high-on-base slugger like Joey Votto should never bat as low as fourth. I'm not seeing any big penalty in batting your best guy third, but second usually works best for a player who draws a lot of walks. I don't think this tool is the "last word" but it's fun to play with.

Looking forward to playing with that...and maybe making an app for it. :-) Why does it ask for a number of games to assume that the players have played, though? That does not make sense to me.

EDIT: Just read up on what this does - it is not what I thought. It is an interesting tool, but not something to make an app from. It is not a way to find the best lineup - just a way to analyze an existing lineup.

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Originally Posted by Mizerak

Looking forward to playing with that...and maybe making an app for it. :-) Why does it ask for a number of games to assume that the players have played, though? That does not make sense to me.

EDIT: Just read up on what this does - it is not what I thought. It is an interesting tool, but not something to make an app from. It is not a way to find the best lineup - just a way to analyze an existing lineup.

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yeah I thought it was going to give me my best line up too

I was actually beginning to work on my own simulator when I saw this one. Unlike your lineup app, it does not test all possible lineups, but it is easy to switch players around and test any reasonable lineup. And the results are not theoretical, based on average historical values; they depend only on the actual lineup entered. As the author says, you can use it estimate the value of a trade or how much that slick-fielding shortstop will cost you in terms of runs, as well comparing different batting orders.

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Originally Posted by Lex Logan

I was actually beginning to work on my own simulator when I saw this one. Unlike your lineup app, it does not test all possible lineups, but it is easy to switch players around and test any reasonable lineup. And the results are not theoretical, based on average historical values; they depend only on the actual lineup entered. As the author says, you can use it estimate the value of a trade or how much that slick-fielding shortstop will cost you in terms of runs, as well comparing different batting orders.

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That's true. It is still useful online...just not something that can be created in an app easily, unless we get the code they are using for the simulations.