The perfect Rangers lineup Bruce Bochy refuses to use

Over the course of the season, teams are obviously going to employ dozens of different lineups according to who's hot, who's injured, speed, power, and who matches up better against certain pitchers.

The Rangers have used more than 40 different lineups so far this season, and there are still 45 games left in the season.

We've penciled in the one lineup that we haven't seen that, metrically, should be manager Bruce Bochy's best option regardless of whether they are facing a right-hander or a left-hander.

1. Josh Smith

This one is a no-brainer and shouldn't be overthought too much. Yet Bochy has consistently pulled Smith from the leadoff spot, pushing him down to the 7th, 8th, and 9th spots.

Smith is tied with Marcus Semien for the team lead in hits at 98, leads in average at .266, and is second in OBP at .344. He has plus speed with 9 SB, and is also a smart baserunner. If it ain't broke, Boch, don't fix it.

2. Evan Carter

When healthy, "Full Count" Carter sees a lot of pitches and draws a lot of walks. Yes, Corey Seager has been ensconced in the 2-hole as long as we can remember, but give us another guy who puts the ball in play and doesn't strikeout much in the 2nd slot.

Adding a contact hitter, Carter, right before your best hitter comes up, increases the odds of moving that leadoff hitter into scoring position for your 3 and 4 hole hitters in the first inning.

3. Corey Seager

It's time to move the team's best hitter into the traditional "best hitter" slot. We understand the newish movement of putting your best hitter in the 2nd spot to try to get him an extra at-bat in the late innings, but there is a reason most teams still have their most productive hitter third.

And the numbers clearly show that Seager is the Rangers best player, as he leads the team in average, HRs, SLUG, .OPS, and WAR.

4. Kyle Higashioka

At the beginning of the season, this would have been a massive ask, but over the last two months, Higgy has been the teams' second most consistent power hitter behind only Seager.

6 of his 7 homeruns have come since July 5, and his .411 slugging percentage is second behind only Seager. If you've been watching the Rangers night-in, night-out, you've likely noticed that Higgy is barreling the ball as consistently as anyone even when it's an out.

5. Wyatt Langford

The kid may not have had the breakout season that most fans were hoping for, but even as the 23-year-old is still learning the ropes of professional baseball, he is still one of the team's most productive and feared hitters.

Unfortunately for the Rangers, Langford is one of the only everyday starters who has shown the inclination to use the entire field at the plate. There's obviously plenty of pop in the bat which you want in the 5 spot as his 15 HRs and .409 SLUG indicates.

6. Marcus Semien

The 6 spot is kind of the "no man's land" in the order in that it bridges the heart of the lineup with the bottom third. Semien is a flat pull hitter who has power to left field only. This limitation should keep him below the heart of the order, but he's too valuable and works counts too well to place any lower.

The numbers speak for themselves, however, and Semien is hitting just .228 in over 440 AB.

7. Josh Jung

For the time being, it looks like Jung is going to be the Rangers' everyday third baseman, which means you have to hit him. In the 7th spot, Jung still provides decent power to all fields. Ironically, for as much grief as he has taken this season, his .250 average is third best on the team among players with at least 300 at-bats.

8. Joc Pederson

Just hear us out on this one. Baseball is very much a "what have you done for me lately" kind of game. And the polarizing 1B/DH has been delivering as of late.

He's 5-14 in August and has a .1.143 SLUG. The eighth spot is often referred to the "second clean-up spot" as it is four slots behind the 4 spot. So we'll buy low on Pederson here, and put a power bat at 8, trusting the odds that he will continue to trend upward.

9. Sam Haggerty

Haggerty is your prototypical ninth slot hitter. He's a scrappy contact guy who has good speed. He doesn't strike out a lot, which is a good trait to have in a guy who is trying to roll the lineup over back to the leadoff spot.

Note: No, we didn't forget guys like Adolis Garcia, Jonah Heim, and Jake Burger. Every team needs bats on the bench.