AL Lineup Analysis

Angels

• Shohei Ohtani is batting third since coming off the IL with Brian Goodwin moving down to the sixth spot.
• With Tommy La Stella hurt, Brian Fletcher is leading off.
• Zack Cozart is batting 9th since returning from the IL. Luis Rengifo got demoted.

Astros

• The kings of set-and-forget keep chugging along.

Athletics

• Jurickson Profar has heated up this past week (.318.375/.636) and has batted second for the A’s.
• Matt Olson has slotted into the fifth spot after coming off the IL.

Blue Jays

• Since Freddy Galvis (.269/.291/.431) has returned from the IL, he’s batting second.
• Brandon Drury and his .208/.244/.392 slash line continues to find ways into the starting lineup (11 of last 12 games).
• Billy McKinney is no longer facing left-handed pitching.

Indians

• The lineup has been set since Lindor returned from the IL. The only daily discrepancy is Leonys Martin (.671 OPS), Tyler Naquin (.676 OPS), and Jordan Luplow (.643 OPS) have to share two outfield spots.

Mariners

• There is some movement. Dee Gordon is leading off against righties (and possibly headed to the IL). Domingo Santana has been moved down to the fifth spot after hitting (.205/.279/.410) over the past week.
• Daniel Vogelbach continues to sit against most lefties.

Orioles

• Hanser Alberto (.292/.304/.371) has been sneaking himself in the lineup (six of last eight games) with Richie Martin (.169/.247/.247) sitting more and more often (Jonathan Villar at short).
• Joey Rickard (.202/.295/.354) is being relegated to the short side of a platoon with Chris Davis sitting against lefties.

Rangers

• Joey Gallo is playing centerfield since Delino DeShields got demoted.
• Rougned Odor (.141/.223/.271) is now hitting at the bottom of the lineup.
• Over the last week, the Rangers have been platooning Hunter Pence (vs LHP) and Nomar Mazara (vs RHP).

Rays

• Like many teams, they have been dealing with injuries. They promoted Nathaniel Lowe to play first and DH while Austin Meadows was on the IL. Meadows is back Friday. The lineup will likely return to its mid-April form. Meadows was leading off and Brandon Lowe moving down to fifth. No one will know for sure until Friday.
• Watch to see is Daniel Robertson (.186/.288/.289) can keep himself in the lineup.

Red Sox

• They are pretty set. Eduardo Nunez has shown his versatility by moving around the diamond allowing players to get a day off.
• Steve Pearce and Mitch Moreland are still in a first base platoon.

Royals

• It has been set for the last couple of weeks with no surprises.
• Kelvin Gutierrez must have missed the anti-porn group meeting and was banished to the bench for the last two games and the mighty Chris Owings took his place.

Tigers

• The lineup is set it and forget it for the first five spots.
• The bottom of the order is just not hitting to the point that Harold Castro is starting. You may be asking who is Harold Castro. So am I.

Twins

• Really consistent expect with Mitch Garver leading off against the last two lefty starters. It’s not so much that Garver excels against lefties, it’s that Max Kepler is back to struggling against them (.192/.250/.308).

White Sox

• The outfield situation is a mess since Carlie Tilson was promoted. The White Sox have been playing Nicky Delmonico (.661 OPS), Leury Garcia (.731 OPS), and Ryan Cordell (.788 OPS) in the outfield. Tilson (1.045 OPS) has come out hot so someone needs to sit every night. Check the weekend lineups to see who.

Yankees

• Miguel Andujar has returned from the DL but is ice cold (.156/.176/.156). He still may be affected by the shoulder injury and is unstartable at this point. I’ll consider starting him once he gets an extra base hit.
• Clint Frazier (.300/.318/.563) has moved up the lineup batting third or fifth.
• Brett Gardner (.757 OPS), Mike Tauchman (.738 OPS), and Cameron Maybin (.763 OPS) have been splitting time in two outfield spots.