At 13U-14U, most travel leagues use a traditional 9-man batting order (some still allow continuous), and lineup construction starts to look like real baseball. The batting order at this age should place your highest on-base hitters at the top, your power hitters in the middle, and your developing hitters in spots where they can contribute without constant pressure.

The game transforms at this age. Pitchers throw harder and with more movement. Catchers make throws to second base that actually arrive on time. Defensive positioning matters. The batting order becomes a genuine strategic tool rather than a fairness rotation.

If your league uses a 9-man lineup, you're choosing who starts and who sits for at-bats — which means lineup construction has both competitive and developmental consequences. For leagues still using continuous batting orders, the positional strategy below still applies to where you slot each hitter.

At 13U-14U, you have enough games (20-50 in travel ball) to make data-informed decisions. The stats that matter most for lineup construction:

OBP is the single most important stat for determining lineup position. A player with a .420 OBP belongs near the top of the order regardless of his batting average. Learn more about OBP.

OPS combines on-base ability with power. It's the best single number for "how productive is this hitter." Your highest-OPS players should hit 3-4-5. Learn more about OPS.

K-rate matters for contact spots (2-hole, 6-hole). A player who puts the ball in play 80% of the time is more valuable in run-scoring situations than a player who strikes out 40% of the time — even if the second player hits for more power.

Rizzler's AI batting order analyzes these stats automatically and suggests lineup configurations with the reasoning behind each slot. The AI gets smarter as the season progresses and the sample size grows. At 13U-14U, importing GameChanger data midseason gives the AI a strong foundation.