Angels

• David Fletcher lost his hold on the leadoff spot to Kole Calhoun and Brian Goodwin by hitting .250/.294/.313 over the last month.
• Luis Rengifo has started 14 straight games while just hitting .246/.328/.366.
• Matt Thaiss has started four of the last five games (three at third base) while hitting .208/.300/.453 over the last month.

Astros

• The lineup remains consistent. Some changes happened while Alex Bregman dealt with a sore shoulder.
• Josh Reddick plays three games and then sits for one.
• Aledmys Díaz has taken over the utility role since returning from the IL while hitting .235/.341/.412 in 41 PA.

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With the trade deadline behind us, player movement has slowed to a crawl, but as in any other week, injuries and slumps are causing managers to tweak their lineups. Here are this week’s most notable changes in the National League.

Arizona

Just as it appeared that Christian Walker was losing playing time against righties, he has gained it back. Walker has started five straight games, including three against right-handed starters. Instead, it’s Adam Jones who is losing playing time, as he has been out of the starting lineup for three of the last five games with a right-handed starter
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Angels

• Overall, it has been consistent for weeks but with Andrelton Simmons on the IL, David Fletcher has been the full-time shortstop and Matt Thaiss has taken over at third. While a 35% K% will limit Thaiss’s AVG (and OBP), he has shown some power hitting five homers in 65 PA.

Astros

• The lineup is the same with Josh Reddick getting most of the starts (13 if 16) in right-field.

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Angels

• The lineup is fairly consistent.
• One of Albert Pujols, Luis Rengifo, and Matt Thaiss must sit every game.

Astros

• The lineup has been set since Carlos Correa returned from the IL.
• There is a possibility that Josh Reddick (vs RHP) and Jake Marisnick (vs LHP) are in a platoon.

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The trade deadline produced some playing time winners and losers across the National League. While it’s premature to know how some of these situations will play out, the Reds, Cubs and Phillies in particular already have some interesting developments that are worth paying attention to.

Arizona

It appears that Torey Lovullo has at least two platoons in place, with Jake Lamb and Christian Walker splitting time at first base and Jarrod Dyson and Wilmer Flores sharing a spot in the lineup (with Ketel Marte starting at second base versus righties and in center field versus lefties). Neither of these is a strict platoon, but these are the tendencies that Lovullo has shown over the past week. A third platoon may be developing, as David Peralta has received each of the last five starts in left field against a righty, but Tim Locastro has taken two of the last three against a left-handed starter.
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The Rays and Brewers have swapped players with the Rays getting first baseman Jesus Aguilar and the Brewers adding reliever Jake Faria. Here’s my take on who gains the most value from now to end-of-season in redraft leagues.

Travis Shaw/Eric Thames: Not sure what is going on here. The Brewers are left with two left-handed bats for the first base job. I think both become two-thirds time plays with both splitting time at first and Thames playing in the outfield especially with Ryan Braun needing rest Lorenzo Cain getting banged up. Shaw could play around the infield once a week as he did before his demotion.

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What a great trade (and fight) last night. This trade has so many moving parts that I’m going to focus on those players seeing their in-season fantasy value changing enough for owners to act. I’m not going to touch keeper/dynasty values as league rules will determine much of the player’s valuation. I’ll try to get past the main characters and find those players who need to be picked up or dropped.

While I’m supposed to provide instant analysis on this blockbuster trade, the true fantasy value gainers and decliners aren’t going to be 100% known for a few days. Owners will keep sticking Trevor Bauer and Yasiel Puig in their lineup. While the park factors and league context will change their value a bit, it’s non-actionable. They aren’t going to be dropped or added so the trade doesn’t affect their value.

The exact gain rankings aren’t known yet as who replaces Puig and who Bauer pushes out of the Reds rotation. Owners in weekly FAAB leagues will have time to make a decision and see who the MLB teams use for replacements. In the wild, wild west of quick-click leagues, hopefully, I can provide the correct replacements, but I’m guessing what the Reds and Padres will do which isn’t the easiest. With the disclaimers out of the way, it’s time to get to the winner and losers.

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By this time next week, several teams in the National League will probably have lineups with a different look. For now, managers are mostly tinkering on the margins. Still, there are a few players who have recently seen their playing time take a turn for the better or the worse.

Arizona

David Peralta made his return to the Diamondbacks on Wednesday after missing three weeks with a shoulder injury. He pinch-hit on Wednesday, but on Friday he started, and Christian Walker was the regular who made way for him. Going forward, Peralta’s presence could impact Jarrod Dyson and Tim Locastro, who had been splitting time in left field. A change in the batting order could be in the works, as Dyson and Locastro have been serving as the leadoff hitters. Peralta has batted exclusively in the third and fourth spots so far this season.
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Angels

• Overall, the lineup has been consistent. Shohei Ohtani has been sitting with no DH available in NL parks.
• David Fletcher has led off 13 of the last 14 games while hitting .250/.294/.354 during that time frame.

Astros

• With Carlos Correa coming off the IL, all the pieces are back and the early season lineup will likely be used. Correa will hit fifth which would move Yordan Alvarez down a spot.

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The first full week of the second half is just about in the books. Let’s see which NL teams have lineups with different looks.

Arizona

The continued absence of David Peralta (shoulder) has meant there has been room for both Jake Lamb and Christian Walker in the lineup, even though the Diamondbacks have faced 11 consecutive right-handed starters. Peralta started swinging a bat this week, but he is not on the verge of returning. When Peralta comes back, assuming he is not traded shortly thereafter, Torey Lovullo will have a dilemma on his hands. Lamb has posted a .958 OPS in July, while Walker has an 1.133 OPS with four home runs in 35 plate appearances this month.
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