Here are the latest developments in position player playing time projections for the rest of the season. Now that the season is in full swing, we’re unfortunately seeing the injuries roll in, as well as a big PED suspension for Jurickson Profar.
Welcome to the first Pitcher Playing Time Changes rundown of the regular season! As with position players, the methodology is a little different in the regular season.
For starting pitchers, instead of displaying raw games started projections like I did during Spring Training, I’m switching to percentage of a team’s remaining starts. When looking at this on a weekly basis, pitchers who are closer to coming back from injury will have their percentage go up, since they’re projected to miss less of the remaining season. Pitchers who were injured since the last update will, of course, have their percentage go down.
Relievers are going to be more streamlined, in that I’m not going to actually show projected innings pitched, because the way we project them internally always show as full-season innings, even if there’s only 50% of the season left. For example, a relief pitcher who started with 70 projected innings pitched and had his projections unchanged will still show as 70 innings pitched after 81 games. So, instead, I’ll just be showing percent change for notable relievers and we won’t be focusing on the actual innings they’re projected for when we’re only talking about a week of difference. That allows me to zero in on pitchers who’ve gotten injured or demoted.
Away we go:
Welcome to the regular season, and welcome to the first in-season edition of Position Player Playing Time Changes! This will be very similar to the Spring Training editions, but with a change to go over.
During Spring Training, the changes had been shown in plate appearances, since every team had a full season to play, but it’ll now be displayed in percentage of remaining plate appearances. T are 700 plate appearances available to each player at the start of the season, but there are only 350 available when the player’s team has played 81 games, for example. So you and I both won’t have to constantly re-contextualize what remaining plate appearance means relative to games played, we’ll stick with percentages now.
To start the year, I’ll be using a cutoff of a 10% plate appearance swing in either direction, but that cutoff will go down as the season goes on (since 10% of 158 games is the same as 5% of 78). Occasionally, I’ll include players a little bit under the cutoff if they’re notable enough. Without further ado, let’s get to it:
Here are the most impactful changes to position player playing time projections since March 21st, headlined by some big-name prospects making Opening Day rosters.
| Player | Positions | Team | Old PA | New PA | PA Change | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Muncy | 3B, 2B, SS | ATH | 56 | 322 | 266 | Made Opening Day roster and could stave off Gelof for more PT when he’s back |
| Cam Smith | RF, 3B | HOU | 182 | 434 | 252 | |
| Alan Roden | CF, LF, RF, DH | TOR | 203 | 427 | 224 | Earned Opening Day spot, will have starting job at least until Varsho is back |
| Rowdy Tellez | DH,1B | SEA | 147 | 350 | 203 | Made Opening Day roster as strong-side platoon DH |
| Yuli Gurriel | 1B | SDP | 14 | 182 | 168 | Made Opening Day roster, should get some DH PA too |
| Kristian Campbell | 2B, DH | BOS | 350 | 518 | 168 | Made Opening Day roster and will be a regular as long as he deserves it |
| Brandon Lockridge | LF, CF | SDP | 42 | 189 | 147 | Made Opening Day roster; will platoon with Heyward in LF |
| Cooper Hummel | RF | HOU | 14 | 140 | 126 | Not a sure thing but likelier to be on Opening Day roster than he has been |
| Isaac Collins | 2B | MIL | 7 | 119 | 112 | All but guaranteed of Opening Day spot now, could spell Turang against LHP |
| Ji Hwan Bae | 2B, CF | PIT | 42 | 147 | 105 | Should have Opening Day spot as PR/defense/some starts against righties |
| Nick Martini | LF, DH, RF | COL | 42 | 133 | 91 | Contract selected, should play vs RHP to start but unsure of where PT will come from when Estrada is healthy |
| Manuel Margot | CF, LF | DET | 56 | 147 | 91 | Starting CF with Meadows out? |
| J.C. Escarra | C, DH | NYY | 91 | 182 | 91 | Won backup catcher job |
| Gavin Sheets | DH, 1B, LF, RF | SDP | 238 | 322 | 84 | Officially on Opening Day roster; will mostly DH against RHP |
| Bryan Ramos | DH, 3B | CHW | 133 | 217 | 84 | Injuries open up an Opening Day spot |
| Jordan Beck | LF, RF, DH, CF | COL | 420 | 504 | 84 | Jones trade, Veen demotion opens up even more time |
| Jake Bauers | 1B | MIL | 28 | 105 | 77 | Will be on Opening Day roster barring late addition as PH/occasional Hoskins sub |
| Jose Iglesias | 2B, DH, 3B, SS | SDP | 266 | 336 | 70 | Earned Opening Day spot and should start against LHP |
| Mark Canha | 1B, LF, RF, DH | KCR | 154 | 224 | 70 | Late acquisition from MIL, will play against LHP |
| Brendan Rodgers | 2B | HOU | 196 | 266 | 70 | Not a guarantee to be on roster but could split 2B with Dubón |
| Sean Bouchard | LF, DH, RF | COL | 175 | 245 | 70 | Jones trade, Veen demotion opens up more PT |
| Gabriel Arias | 2B, 1B, SS, 3B | CLE | 266 | 336 | 70 | Freeman trade makes him the clear 2B until Brito is ready |
| Zac Veen | LF, RF, CF | COL | 224 | 294 | 70 | Sent down, but should be up sooner than expected coming off strong Spring, Jones trade |
| Chas McCormick | LF, RF, CF | HOU | 413 | 343 | -70 | Smith emergence makes PT harder to come by |
| Jacob Melton | CF | HOU | 126 | 56 | -70 | With Cam Smith exploding, when will he be a factor? |
| Alex Jackson | C | NYY | 98 | 21 | -77 | Lost backup catcher job to Escarra |
| Joey Loperfido | LF, CF, 1B, RF | TOR | 140 | 63 | -77 | Will start season in minors, and Roden also being a lefty makes finding PT tough |
| Connor Joe | LF, DH, 1B, RF | SDP | 217 | 133 | -84 | Nice Spring but having an option means he’ll start in AAA |
| Jerar Encarnacion | DH, 1B, LF, RF | SFG | 308 | 224 | -84 | Broken finger requiring surgery |
| Luis Campusano | C, DH | SDP | 287 | 203 | -84 | Lost backup catcher job to Maldonado |
| Johnathan Rodriguez | LF, DH, RF | CLE | 119 | 28 | -91 | Jones trade makes future OF PT hard to come by |
| Orelvis Martinez | DH, 3B, 2B | TOR | 245 | 154 | -91 | Starting season in minors and if Roden pops, Santander DHes more |
| Thairo Estrada | 2B | COL | 518 | 420 | -98 | Broken wrist, out 4-8 weeks |
| Luis Guillorme | 2B, 3B, SS | HOU | 126 | 28 | -98 | Won’t make team but could stick around as depth |
| DJ Stewart | RF, LF, 1B | PIT | 119 | 21 | -98 | Won’t make team but could stick around as depth |
| Tirso Ornelas | LF, DH, RF | SDP | 301 | 203 | -98 | Optioned to minors but should still factor in at some point |
| Parker Meadows | CF | DET | 497 | 392 | -105 | 60-day IL with nerve issue |
| Jon Singleton | DH, 1B | HOU | 112 | 0 | -112 | Released after not making roster |
| Will Brennan | RF, CF, LF | CLE | 273 | 154 | -119 | Sent down after Jones trade |
| Nelson Velazquez | RF, DH, LF | KCR | 133 | 7 | -126 | Outrighted off 40-man |
| Masataka Yoshida | LF, DH | BOS | 259 | 133 | -126 | With Campbell on the roster, where will he find PA even if he can play OF? |
| Brandon Drury | 2B, 3B, DH, 1B | CHW | 336 | 203 | -133 | Great spring ruined by fractured thumb |
| Eguy Rosario | RF, 3B, SS, LF, DH, 2B | SDP | 238 | 35 | -203 | Won’t make team; out of options |
| Zack Gelof | 2B | ATH | 630 | 364 | -266 | Hamate injuries don’t cost too much time but they do cost power; might Muncy keep his job when Gelof is back? |
Below are all of the changes in projected playing time (games started for starters, innings pitched for relievers) for pitchers since our last update on March 19. We learned quite a lot in the last five days, so this is our most robust update yet!
| Pitcher | Team | Old GS | New GS | GS Change | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Liberatore | STL | 3 | 18 | 15 | Won SP5 job over Matz |
| Logan Allen | CLE | 6 | 19 | 13 | Won SP5 job over McKenzie |
| Shane Smith | CHW | 6 | 16 | 10 | Likely SP5 over Bryse Wilson |
| AJ Smith-Shawver | ATL | 13 | 19 | 6 | Won rotation spot; Anderson traded away |
| Bryce Elder | ATL | 5 | 10 | 5 | Optioned to minors but Anderson trade opens starts up down the line |
| Hayden Wesneski | HOU | 13 | 18 | 5 | Stronger hold on SP5 with Luis Garcia setback |
| Griffin Canning | NYM | 13 | 16 | 3 | Tighter hold on rotation spot with excellent camp |
| Joey Estes | ATH | 16 | 19 | 3 | Won SP5 over Spence, others |
| Paul Blackburn | NYM | 11 | 8 | -3 | Rough camp; will start in bullpen |
| Kyle Harrison | SFG | 16 | 13 | -3 | Officially lost SP5 to either Birdsong or Roupp |
| Andrew Abbott | CIN | 24 | 21 | -3 | Not injured, but starting on IL as he continues to build up |
| Joey Cantillo | CLE | 16 | 13 | -3 | Probably starting out in minors to stay stretched out |
| Shinnosuke Ogasawara | WSN | 10 | 6 | -4 | Really bad Spring, starting in AAA |
| Jared Jones | PIT | 28 | 24 | -4 | Continued uncertainty as we await word on elbow |
| Luis L. Ortiz | CLE | 23 | 19 | -4 | Kept rotation spot but a rough camp means he has a lot to prove |
| Ian Anderson | LAA | 15 | 10 | -5 | Likely to spend most of his time as an Angel in the bullpen |
| Kenta Maeda | DET | 8 | 3 | -5 | Will start in bullpen; hard to see many starts with Jobe, Mize, eventually Cobb, maybe Montero |
| Triston McKenzie | CLE | 18 | 13 | -5 | Starting out in bullpen; velocity is coming back but command hasn’t |
| Mitch Spence | ATH | 19 | 13 | -6 | Opening the year in the bullpen |
| Caden Dana | LAA | 13 | 6 | -7 | Really bad Spring + Ian Anderson addition means he might need more time than thought to keep developing |
| Ryan Weathers | MIA | 26 | 19 | -7 | Starting season on IL (forearm strain) |
| Luis Garcia | HOU | 18 | 11 | -7 | Setback in Tommy John recovery |
| Cade Povich | BAL | 18 | 8 | -10 | Won SP5, but that’s more than canceled out by Gibson addition |
| Quinn Mathews | STL | 16 | 6 | -10 | Six-man rotation, good McGreevy Spring means he’ll be eighth on the depth chart for a bit |
| Drew Thorpe | CHW | 15 | 0 | -15 | Tommy John surgery, see you in 2026 🙁 |
| Pitcher | Team | Old IP | New IP | IP Change | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Bowman | BAL | 15 | 52 | 37 | Contract selected; frontrunner for last bullpen spot |
| Patrick Murphy | TEX | 24 | 60 | 36 | Dunning on outright waivers, Murphy can provide long relief |
| Ryan Johnson | LAA | 10 | 44 | 34 | Impressive camp could get him on the roster sooner than later |
| Hunter Stratton | PIT | 15 | 46 | 31 | Contract selected, should factor in soon if not Opening Day |
| Ian Anderson | LAA | 13 | 42 | 29 | Likely to spend most of his time as an Angel in the bullpen |
| Brad Keller | CHC | 26 | 54 | 28 | Not official yet, but should be last reliever to make bullpen |
| Mitch Spence | ATH | 10 | 38 | 28 | Starting out in the bullpen after entering camp as SP5 |
| Jackson Rutledge | WSN | 23 | 50 | 27 | Converting to relief full-time, likely to make Opening Day roster |
| Zack Kelly | BOS | 26 | 50 | 24 | Nice Spring Training showing makes him less of an up-and-down option and closer to a stalwart |
| Sean Newcomb | BOS | 14 | 36 | 22 | Likely to be SP5, move to bullpen after 1-2 of Giolito, Bello, Crawford return |
| Joel Peguero | SFG | 14 | 34 | 20 | Went from under-the-radar NRI to possible Opening Day reliever, or early call-up |
| Jonathan Hernández | TBR | 26 | 46 | 20 | Six good Spring appearances have him on the verge of an Opening Day spot |
| Ryan Gusto | HOU | 18 | 36 | 18 | Haven’t fully committed, but could be in Opening Day bullpen |
| Steven Matz | STL | 22 | 39 | 17 | Will start out in bullpen, move to rotation April 16 |
| Kevin Kelly | TBR | 41 | 57 | 16 | Vasil trade, Faedo injury opens up PT |
| Alex Faedo | TBR | 57 | 41 | -16 | Opening on IL with shoulder discomfort |
| Sean Hjelle | SFG | 66 | 50 | -16 | Sent down after entering camp with a great shot at Opening Day bullpen, should be back soon though |
| Declan Cronin | MIA | 67 | 50 | -17 | Starting season on IL (hip discomfort) |
| AJ Smith-Shawver | ATL | 46 | 26 | -20 | Won last rotation spot, but could still get RP innings when Strider’s healthy |
| Zach Pop | TOR | 56 | 35 | -21 | Starting season on IL (elbow discomfort) |
| Matthew Liberatore | STL | 64 | 40 | -24 | Made Opening Day rotation; this projected RP IP total could keep going down |
| Shane Smith | CHW | 51 | 25 | -26 | Frontrunner for SP5 but could still get some RP innings |
| Dane Dunning | TEX | 60 | 18 | -42 | Reportedly on outright waivers after rough Spring |
Below are the latest playing time changes for position players since last Tuesday. We’ve mostly just got some Gavin Sheets– and Alex Verdugo-related shuffling for the Padres and Braves, respectively.
| Name | Team | Positions | Old PA | New PA | PA Change | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Verdugo | ATL | RF, LF, CF | FA | 126 | 126 | Will start in AAA, probably has to beat Acuña to MLB to get significant PT |
| Gavin Sheets | SDP | DH, 1B, LF, RF | 126 | 238 | 112 | Contract selected; not guaranteed to make roster but likeliest to be DH vs RHP |
| José Fermín | STL | 2B, SS, 3B, LF | 7 | 98 | 91 | Likeliest to win final bench spot; could spell Gorman against LHP |
| Alan Roden | TOR | LF, RF, CF | 133 | 203 | 70 | Outplaying all the other OF contenders; Varsho probably IL’ed until he can throw |
| Jose Iglesias | SDP | 2B, DH, SS, 3B | 336 | 266 | -70 | Sheets addition reduces PA, especially against righties |
| Jarred Kelenic | ATL | RF, CF, LF | 182 | 112 | -70 | Verdugo addition cuts into PT |
Below are the latest playing time changes for pitchers since Monday, with the Patrick Corbin signing further reshuffling projected starts for the Rangers.
| Player | Team | Old GS | New GS | GS Change | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Corbin | TEX | FA | 16 | 3 | Will help cover starts, especially in the first half |
| Stephen Kolek | SDP | 8 | 11 | 3 | Darvish injury opens up more starts |
| Adrian Houser | TEX | 5 | 2 | -3 | Corbin signings eats into PT |
| Yu Darvish | SDP | 29 | 26 | -3 | Elbow inflammation, hard to see him ready for Opening Day |
| Jack Leiter | TEX | 23 | 19 | -4 | Corbin signings eats into PT; maybe some RP innings later on? |
| Cody Bradford | TEX | 8 | 3 | -5 | Corbin signings eats into PT; could relieve when healthy |
| Player | Team | Old IP | New IP | IP Change | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Lovelady | TOR | 26 | 55 | 29 | Contract selected; not guaranteed to make roster but he’s out of options os he’s got a good shot |
| Anderson Pilar | ATL | 8 | 35 | 27 | Perdomo trade, Farmer reassignment makes bullpen spot more plausible for the R5 pick |
| Luis Garcia | LAD | 16 | 33 | 17 | Contract selected for Tokyo Series, would be odd to DFA him before Opening Day |
| Nick Hernandez | HOU | 44 | 28 | -16 | Optioned to minors after bad Spring Training |
| Blake Walston | ARI | 32 | 0 | -32 | Tommy John surgery |
Below are the latest playing time changes for position players since last Friday. The highlight here is a couple Reds developments opening more playing time for Christian Encarnacion-Strand:
| Name | Team | Positions | Old PA | New PA | PA Change | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jose Barrero | STL | SS, 2B, CF | 21 | 105 | 84 | Saggese/Helman optioned; Opening Day spot appears likely |
| Christian Encarnacion-Strand | CIN | DH, 1B | 364 | 441 | 77 | Benson optioning, Stephenson injury opens up more PA |
| Gavin Sheets | SDP | 1B, DH | 56 | 126 | 70 | Swing change is working wonders, but still battling a slew of hitters for DH/1B time |
| Masataka Yoshida | BOS | DH, LF | 329 | 259 | -70 | Could start on IL as he’s still not throwing in games, Devers could eat up DH time |
| Will Benson | CIN | LF, RF, CF | 175 | 98 | -77 | Optioned to minors, team already has Fraley, Friedl, maybe Lux as LHH OF |
| Tyler Stephenson | CIN | DH, 1B, C | 525 | 434 | -91 | Even the most minor of oblique strains is multiple weeks |
| Jace Jung | DET | 3B | 350 | 245 | -105 | Optioned to minors, unknown when he’ll work his way back up |
| Jesús Sánchez | MIA | LF, RF, CF | 539 | 406 | -133 | Strained oblique could keep him out through April; will he face LHP when he’s back? |
Below are the latest playing time changes for pitchers since Thursday, with the big development being the Rangers scrambling to fill their rotation after injuries to Jon Gray and Cody Bradford.
| Name | Team | Old GS | New GS | GS Change | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AJ Smith-Shawver | ATL | 8 | 13 | 5 | Great Spring Training could accelerate return to majors if Holmes or Anderson struggle |
| Jack Leiter | TEX | 19 | 23 | 4 | Jon Gray injury; new pitch mix is working for Leiter but beware of walks |
| Landen Roupp | SFG | 11 | 15 | 4 | 13 Ks in minor league game buttresses strong push for SP5 |
| Michael McGreevy | STL | 5 | 8 | 3 | Just two runs allowed in 11.2 IP, could force team into six-man rotation or early switch to McG |
| Adrian Houser | TEX | 2 | 5 | 3 | Increased velocity + Gray injury makes him clear SP6, maybe even SP5 |
| Chase Dollander | COL | 16 | 19 | 3 | Gomber injury may hasten MLB debut, stuff looks great; don’t worry too much about his Spring ERA! |
| Kyle Harrison | SFG | 19 | 16 | -3 | Velocity is finally ticking back up but running out of time to seize SP5 |
| Jon Gray | TEX | 26 | 19 | -7 | Broken wrist on comebacker, will be out months |
| Name | Team | Old IP | New IP | IP Change | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omar Cruz | SDP | 22 | 38 | 16 | Optioned to AAA; started last year but best lane to MLB time is relieving |
| Doug Nikhazy | CLE | 56 | 27 | -29 | Looked to be in strong position for Opening Day bullpen but then was optioned; being outpitched by Allard |
| Evan Reifert | WSN | 50 | 13 | -37 | Horrendous Spring (30.8% BB%) makes R5 pick highly unlikely to make team; would be returned to Rays |
Below are the latest playing time changes (in plate appearances) for position players since Wednesday. Kristian Campbell might be an even bigger factor this year than we thought!
| Name | Team | Positions | Old PA | New PA | PA Change | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor Scott II | STL | CF | 294 | 434 | 140 | Having a fabulous camp, earning himself starting CF over Siani |
| Drew Avans | ATH | RF | 14 | 84 | 70 | Quietly solid camp; might be better to give Esteury regular time in AAA |
| Kristian Campbell | BOS | 2B, LF, DH | 238 | 308 | 70 | Turning heads after a slow start; Devers DHing more would open up 2B time. Might not be Opening Day, but soon! |
| Masataka Yoshida | BOS | DH, LF | 399 | 329 | -70 | Devers DHing more would take away playing time; still hasn’t played OF this Spring |
| Michael Siani | STL | CF, RF, LF | 259 | 175 | -84 | Nightmarish camp that’s the opposite of Scott’s; can be optioned but still has value off bench for defense |
| Jeff McNeil | NYM | DH, 3B, 1B, 2B, LF | 518 | 427 | -91 | Oblique strain; unlikely to be back in MLB until late April at best |
| Joey Gallo | CHW | LF, 1B, RF, DH | 168 | 63 | -105 | Striking out over 50% of the time in Spring Training; Jankowski MiLB deal pushes him off projected roster |
