This is our stat-based baseball lineup generator. You enter stats for players and this batting order builder outputs an optimal lineup using our StatIQ technology. If you don’t know the stats for your team, we also have a skill-based baseball lineup builder where you can enter skill levels instead.
Stat-Based Lineup Generator
Enter Player Stats Then Click Generate
How to Use This Stat-Based Baseball Lineup Generator
This baseball lineup generator uses stats to generate an optimized batting order. First, enter each player’s name and position in the provided fields. This step is optional but needed if you want personalized results, especially when printing.
Next, enter the On-base Percentage and Slugging Percentage for each player. If you need to figure these numbers you can use our On-base Percentage Calculator and our Slugging Percentage Calculator. If you don’t know stats, you can use our skill-based baseball lineup generator instead.
Once you’ve entered the stats, hit the “Generate Lineup” button. This baseball lineup builder is designed to use our unique StatIQ technology to process the player stats and output an optimized batting order. If you skip any fields, that field is processed as .000, so for best results, make sure all fields are entered properly.
Your inputs will remain even if you refresh the page (so you don’t have to re-enter everything). Want to start over? Click the “Reset” button—a quick confirmation pops up to make sure you don’t accidentally lose your work. You can also hit “Copy” to copy the lineup to your clipboard or “Print” for a clean, printer-friendly version of this optimized batting order to post in a dugout.
How This Baseball Lineup Builder Works
Our unique stat-based baseball lineup builder uses StatIQ technology (that we built) to take the player stats that you enter and output an optimal batting order.
While, we won’t go into deep detail about the science of StatIQ, in general, a lineup that maximizes run production does two things well: it puts players on base in front of the right hitters, and it structures the order so that at-bats are used efficiently over the course of a game and a season.
Every team deals with different personnel, but the numbers show clear trends in how to structure a lineup for the best results.
Top of the Order
High on-base percentage at the top of the order leads to more scoring opportunities. The data on run expectancy confirms that teams with leadoff hitters above a .370 OBP generate more runs than those relying on low-OBP, high-speed players in that role. The priority is reaching base, not just the ability to steal.
The second hitter comes to the plate in more situations with a runner on base than the leadoff man, and this spot gets one of the most valuable lineup positions in terms of plate appearances. Teams that put a high-contact, high-OBP hitter here see better results than those relying on a slap hitter or a traditional bat-control type.
Middle of the Order
The three, four, and five spots account for the bulk of run production. Slugging percentage and weighted runs created plus (wRC+) are the best indicators of which players belong in these positions. The idea that the three-hitter should always be the best overall hitter has lost ground as data shows that the cleanup spot actually sees more high-leverage RBI situations.
The third hitter still plays a crucial role but often comes to bat with the bases empty more than the hitters behind them. Putting the best overall hitter in the four spot, rather than the traditional thinking of making them the three-hitter, tends to increase run totals. Teams that protect their top power bat with another dangerous hitter in the five spot prevent intentional walks and force pitchers into more difficult decisions.
Bottom of the Order
The last four spots in the order vary based on roster depth. Teams without much offensive firepower typically cycle through their weaker bats here, but those with better depth can optimize this section by turning the ninth spot into a secondary leadoff role. A hitter with strong on-base skills in the nine-hole increases the number of times the top of the order comes up in RBI situations.
The data on baseball lineup optimization suggests that the total effect of these decisions is often worth a handful of extra runs per season rather than a massive shift in output. However, in tight games, that handful of runs makes a difference. The best batting orders balance on-base skills with power and distribute at-bats in a way that maximizes the team’s best hitters.
What if Your Team Lacks Depth?
A lineup with limited depth requires a different approach. When only a couple hitters consistently produce, maximizing their plate appearances matters more than traditional lineup balance.
Let’s just say, for example, your lineup only two high-impact hitters. The data strongly suggests that placing them first and second in the lineup is the best approach to take to ensure that the total at-bats for those two players is maximized over the course of a game and season.
Run expectancy models confirm that giving an elite hitter 30 to 50 extra plate appearances over a season is more valuable than saving them for a theoretical RBI chance that may never come. And our unique StatIQ technology is designed to identify these types of “thin” lineups, and output a lineup that maximizes plate appearances for the best players in those types of situations.
This approach works best when the rest of the lineup struggles to reach base or drive in runs. A weaker supporting cast makes traditional lineup protection less effective because pitchers won’t fear what follows. Instead of waiting for an ideal situation that rarely happens, the best strategy is to maximize opportunities for the few hitters in your lineup who can produce.
Use our baseball lineup generator at the top of the page to build an optimized batting order.