Archive for Hitters

Position Player Playing Time Changes: March 26, 2025

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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.

Position Player Projected PA Changes, 3/21 to 3/25
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 Likelier and likelier to be on the Opening Day roster Officially made it shortly after Jon turned this piece in!
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?

Position Player Playing Time Changes: March 21, 2025

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

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.

Position Player Projected PA Changes, 3/18 to 3/21
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

Top-200 Hitters 2025 Fantasy Rankings

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Quick update with a few injury-related moves.

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Position Player Playing Time Changes: March 18, 2025

Kareem Elgazzar / The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

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:

Position Player Projected PA Changes, 3/14 to 3/18
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?

Position Player Playing Time Changes: March 14, 2025

Mike Watters-Imagn Images

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!

Position Player Projected PA Changes, 3/12 to 3/14
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

Position Player Playing Time Changes: March 12, 2025

Allan Henry-Imagn Images

There aren’t many big changes since our first iteration of this series, but knowing that it’s draft time, I’ll be keeping you posted on hitters every other day until the season starts! Here’s the playing time swings of at least 70 plate appearances since Monday.

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Position Player Playing Time Changes: March 10, 2025

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Hi everyone, and welcome to the first iteration of Position Player Playing Time Changes! Since this is the first one of these, I wanted to lay out my process here with Opening Day fast approaching.

Our Depth Charts projections are extremely fluid, and RosterResource guru Jason Martinez makes many tweaks and larger changes every day. Knowing that, we found it prudent to provide a snapshot of the recent changes, looking at the last week. All we’re doing is pulling projected plate appearances for March 3, and comparing those to March 10.

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Building a 2025 $14 NFBC Offense

Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Auction day is one of my favorite days of the year. So what to do when you love auctioning, but your first event of the year isn’t for another week and a half? Fake buy players from auctions that did actually take place! For fun, I decided to check out the NFBC average auction values and build a standard 14-player offense for $14. That’s right, every player I selected had to come with an average auction value of just a buck. Imagine the pitching staff you could assemble with the $246 you would have remaining!

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Alex Bregman Lands in Boston

Credit: Chris Tilley-Imagn Images

Last week, Alex Bregman finally found a new home, signing a three-year contract with the Red Sox. After spending his entire nine-year career with the Astros, it’s going to take a while to get used to him donning a different uniform, and calling a new ballpark home. So let’s consult the park factors to see how the move might affect his performance.

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The Market and Me 2025: Comparing My 3B Ranks to ADP

An image of Jace Jung sliding on a baseball field holding his hand out
Credit: Peter Aiken-Imagn Images

Two things can happen when your opinions differ from the fantasy baseball internet majority. One, you prove to be right and get to “Nah-nah, nah-nah, boo-boo!” all over the place. Or two, you look foolish in front of all your computer friends and have to live with them, not being mad, just disappointed. This time last year I wrote the first episode of The Market and Me and will forever have to live with being higher on Patrick Wisdom than most. He finished 2024 as the 75th-best third baseman at -$32.40. Wisdom wasn’t the only one. Anthony Rendon finished even worse at -$35.40, the 88th-best third baseman in 2024. I was “higher” on both of those players than the market, but the market didn’t have to “rank” 40+ third basemen. I wasn’t necessarily high on Wisdom and Rendon, they were at the very bottom of my ranks. Still, they fell far outside of the imaginary line you can draw through the blue points that make up the relationship between ADP and my rank order, like the way Matt Shaw and Justin Turner do below. The “Market and Me” is an exercise in analyzing my own rankings, looking for where I may need to correct, where I may need to erase and re-order, and where I may plant my flag in the ground.

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