AL Lineup Analysis (6/15/19)
Angels
- Luis Rengifo (.597 OPS) and Wilfredo Tovar (.422 OPS) are manning the two infield positions while batting eighth and ninth.
- Kevan Smith (.284//.376/.419) is hitting better than Jonathan Lucroy (.232/.300/.368) but is only starting twice a week.
- Cesar Puello (vs LHP) and Brian Goodwin (vs RHP) are platooning in left field.
Astros
- The Astros lineup remains in flux with the three stars out and the recent promotion of Yordan Alvarez. They’ve also demoted Derek Fisher. For the last two games, they’ve used the same lineup with Josh Reddick leading off, Alvarez batting fifth, and somehow Tyler White is still batting eighth.
- When the big three return, I expect White, Tony Kemp, and Jake Marisnick to be benched.
Athletics
- The lineup is set with a Chad Pinder and Robbie Grossman splitting time in left field.
Blue Jays
- Cavan Biggio and Eric Sogard are splitting time at second base and being the leadoff hitter.
- Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is now batting third with Justin Smoak batting fifth.
- Teoscar Hernandez has hit .273/.294/.485 since being promoted while batting sixth or seventh in the lineup. Also, he’s started eight straight games.
Indians
- Jose Ramirez is hitting .095/.167/.095 over the past week.
- Jordan Luplow (vs LHP) is in a platoon with Tyler Naquin (vs RHP).
- Mike Freeman has been playing second base with Jason Kipnis out with an injury.
Mariners
- Dylan Moore (.631 OPS) has been the starting shortstop in 11 of the last 13 games.
- Since May 28th, Mallex Smith has been batting leadoff while hitting .310/.364/.451 with six steals
- Since coming off the IL, Kyle Seager (.768 OPS) is batting all over the lineup and has started every game.
- Mac Williamson is batting near the bottom of the lineup while starting five of the last six games.
Orioles
- Anthony Santander (.367/.441/.567) is batting second against righties
- Since his promotion, Chance Sisco (.273/.407/.682) has started five of eight games at catcher.
Rangers
- Delino DeShields has started nine of the last 12 games while hitting first or second in the lineup. Over that time frame, he has hit .333/.419/.361 with three steals. He’s is in an outfield rotation with Shin-Soo Choo, Danny Santana, and Hunter Pence.
- Logan Forsythe is playing three times a week giving the infielders, besides Elvis Andrus, a break.
Rays
- The lineup continues to get scrambled each day but mainly the same players are playing. The exception is that Ji-Man Choi is sitting against lefties and Daniel Robertson against righties.
- Since Travis d’Arnaud signed with the Rays, he’s hitting .226/.286/.419.
Red Sox
- Michael Chavis has steadily cooled off with his monthly OPS going from 1.061 to .788 to .634. He has heated up over the past week hitting .273/.360/.500. The boost has not been enough to move him off the last couple lineup spots.
- Second base is a rotation of Eduardo Nunez (.513 OPS), Brock Holt (.690 OPS), and Marco Hernandez (.765 OPS).
- After a slow start to the season, Jackie Bradley Jr. is hitting .257/.366/.514 in June.
Royals
- It’ll be interesting to see what the Royals do when Hunter Dozier comes off the DL. They just had Ryan O’Hearn return so Dozier (.987 OPS) and O’Hearn (.620 OPS) join Kelvin Guttierrez (.660 OPS) and Cheslor Cuthbert (.973) batting for the corner infield spots.
- Nicky Lopez (.573) is losing playing time to Terrance Gore (.719 OPS).
Tigers
- JaCoby Jones is now batting leadoff with a .378/.446/.689 triple slash line over the last month.
- Brandon Dixon (.289/.307/.496) is playing first base and batting fifth.
- There are no second and third base regulars with Harold Castro, Dawel Lugo, Gordon Beckham, and Ronny Rodriguez each cycling through.
Twins
- A set group of regulars with Marwin Gonzalez cycling through the various positions giving everyone else a breather.
White Sox
- The lineup was becoming steady until Yoan Moncada was injured and Tim Anderson took his #2 spot in the lineup.
- Eloy Jimenez is hitting .231/.294/.513 since coming off the IL.
- Yolmer Sanchez has started 23 straight games while hitting .270/.349/.284.
- James McCann was reminded he was James McCann and is hitting .226/.333/.290 in June.
Yankees
- Didi Gregorius has started four of eight games since coming off the IL but has a 1.111 OPS. It’ll be interesting to see how the playing time shakes out between Gregorious, DJ LeMahieu (.808 OPS), Gleyber Torres (.853), and Giovanny Urshela (.830 OPS).
- Clint Frazier was hot (.975 OPS in April), cooled off (.712 OPS in May), and is hot again (.987 OPS in June).
- Aaron Hicks has hit second or third in six of the last seven games. He does have a .833 OPS in June.
Jeff, one of the authors of the fantasy baseball guide,The Process, writes for RotoGraphs, The Hardball Times, Rotowire, Baseball America, and BaseballHQ. He has been nominated for two SABR Analytics Research Award for Contemporary Analysis and won it in 2013 in tandem with Bill Petti. He has won four FSWA Awards including on for his Mining the News series. He's won Tout Wars three times, LABR twice, and got his first NFBC Main Event win in 2021. Follow him on Twitter @jeffwzimmerman.
A’s Stephen Pisoctty is out for about 1 week and if he goes on DL A’s will most likely call up Jorge Mateo or Franklin Baretto