Rocco Baldelli structures Twins lineup to avoid using too many pinch hitters

ST. LOUIS — Rocco Baldelli has made it clear that he trusts his bench and likes giving those players at-bats.

But this season, he suggested, maybe just not quite so many, especially early in games.

The Twins manager noted the strategy behind batting lefthanders Matt Wallner, Trevor Larnach and switch-hitter Willi Castro in the first, fourth and seventh spots, an alignment he hopes keeps teams from forcing him to pinch-hit earlier than he would like.

“As the year went on last year, some teams did attack us by just taking their [pitchers] out and asking us to make moves or not make moves early in the game,” said Baldelli, who sent a pinch-hitter to the plate 368 times over the past two seasons, the highest two-year total by the Twins since 1995-96.

And 92 of those substitutions, most in the majors, came before the seventh inning, meaning each spot in the order was likely to bat again in the late innings.

It wasn’t an effective strategy, given that Twins’ pinch hitters batted .186 as a team last year, and .228 the year before.

Many of those moves were made to keep his lefthanded hitters from facing lefthanded pitching, which is understandable when you realize that Wallner hit .184 with one homer against lefties last season, and Larnach .227 with none. But by doing so, the Twins’ lineup was without those sluggers when teams inevitably went back to righthanded pitchers late in the game.

Now? “Our lefties are spread out this year in our lineup more so than they have been in the past, so I’ll be looking to see just how teams are going to attack that,” Baldelli said. “We’ve got a bunch of righties separating every lefty in the lineup. That’s something that might help there not be as many moves, and not as many teams that are going to attack us maybe the same way as previously.”

There were no surprises in the Twins’ Opening Day lineup, not after five weeks of Grapefruit League play, and Baldelli said he expects to use this set of players against right-handed starters much of the time until Royce Lewis returns.

That means Wallner will bat atop the lineup, Ty France and Castro will be the regulars on the right side of the infield, and Harrison Bader will get plenty of time in left field, with Larnach serving as the designated hitter.

Wallner batted only .207 this spring, but led the team with six home runs and convinced Baldelli to stick with him as the leadoff hitter.

“If you said, ‘Hey, if you can get Matt Wallner 40 more plate appearances this year by hitting him in the leadoff spot, would you think about doing that? Do you think that might be a good idea?’ There’s more to account for, but I like that idea,” Baldelli said. “He’s been a really good hitter the last couple of years. … I think he’s going to get on base a lot. I think he’s going to have quality plate appearances on the regular, and I think he’s going to hit some balls hard, too.”

As for Castro, the manager said his comfort with shortstop Carlos Correa was a factor in his decision to give his best utility player a more standard job.

“He’s going to play more second base to start. It does a really nice thing for our defense on most days, where he and Carlos work really well together,” Baldelli said. “They’ve been pretty crisp all spring, so getting a little bit of rapport with those two guys will be good.”

Defense was also a consideration in Bader’s selection, as was his six years of experience as a Cardinal.

“Putting a really tight defense out there in the best way we can is a good thing,” Baldelli said. “Sending a veteran player out there on Opening Day, when there is a lot of emotion, when things are going real fast for everybody, also is a good thing. He’s another energy guy who can channel some things and go out there in his former ballpark and help us win a game.”