CPBL team starting lineup OPS+ by position

Two months has passed since the opening day of CPBL 2017 season, we have mostly been focusing on individual statistics.  Today, we want to present the position OPS+ for each team’s starting lineup.  The data we use today is authorized by Kevinchou.  I am personally a fan of him due to his great contribution on analyzing the CPBL data and provide fans of the sport with very interesting insights.

Much appreciated to Kevinchou for his full authorization of data usage on CPBL team OPS+ by position.

Lamigo Monkeys

Lamigo Monkeys has always been competitive with their catchers since 林泓育 (Lin Hung-Yu) is regarded as the best offensive catcher in recent CPBL history, who holds a career record of .335/.399/.530 with the OPS+ of 135.  Despite not having enough plate appearances to make the OPS+ ranking, 35-year-old catcher 黃浩然 (Huang Hao-Jan) who’s used to be known for his defensive skill has been on fire this year with an OPS+ of 155.  Combining Lin and Huang which allowed Monkeys to lead the league in catcher’s category.

Monkeys’ RF also beats out teams due to “The King” 王柏融 (Wang Po-Jung) who at the moment lead the league in both OPS+ (187) and wRC+ (185).  The 23-year-old CPBL sophomore has shatter the CPBL record which was set by former Dodgers 胡金龍 (Hu Chin-Lung) for being the fastest player to reach 300 hits in only 183 games. (Read more about here)

Chinatrust Brothers

The Brothers have an average team OPS+ 117, which makes them the most powerful batting lineup in CPBL.  They hold six positions with OPS+ above the league average, including their 2B (OPS+180), the gifted batter 蔣智賢 (Chiang Chih-Hsien) and their 3B (OPS+ 136), the 2015 MVP 林智勝 (Lin Chih-Sheng).

The new generation of Brothers batter is also shining, as prospect 曾陶鎔 (Tseng Tao-Jung) has set the CPBL record with 4 home runs in 4 consecutive at bats, which earned him the nickname “Lord Tao-Jung” and a ticket in the starting lineup. (More on Tseng Tao-Jung)

However, the catcher position seems to be the Brothers’ Achilles heels.  The team OPS+ is 23.1, which fall last in the league. 陳家駒 (Chen Chia-Chu) with OPS+ 26 and 鄭達鴻 (Cheng Ta-Hung) hoovering at OPS+ 22.

Uni-Lions

The Uni-Lions doesn’t show much advantage when compared with Monkeys and Brothers.  However, there are still some parts that is worth looking into.  The organization’s new core 4 – 陳傑憲 (Chen Chieh-Hsien), 蘇智傑 (Su Chih-Chieh), 鄭鎧文 (Cheng Kai-Wen) and 楊家維 (Yang Chia-Wei) are proving to be very promising so far with their performance.

The Lions SS position seems to be eye-popping not only for the high OPS+ but the attention is also on 陳傑憲 (Chen Chieh-Hsien) who bears a striking resemblance to a popular Taiwanese actor.  This is the first full seasons for the Uni-Lions heartthrob who joined Lions squad towards the end of the 2016.  Despite being a new kid in town, Chen seems to fit in perfectly well as he is now in 2nd place in the overall hit ranking (52 hits) and 3rd place in the OPS+ ranking with 151. (More on the Uni-Lions heartthrob Chen Chieh-Hsien)

Fubon Guardians

Despite winning the 2016 Taiwan Series, the Guardians is currently in the last place in the league OPS+ ranking.  From the observation, Guardians players seems to be influenced the most by participating in the WBC, as they started the three months training camp since the end of 2016 season.  We’re starting to see players showing early tiredness as 胡金龍 (Hu Chin-Lung) has been send down to the farm team, while 林哲瑄 (Lin Che-Hsuen) has been given day-off on the starting line-up.

However, there’s good news since the CPBL three time HR champion 高國輝 (Kao Kuo-Hui) has returned to top team from the wrist injury.  The slugger has cracked 2 home runs in the series against Lamigo Monkeys, using his bat to announce the Guardians is still in competition and they’ll do everything they can to close the distance with other team on the overall standings.

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