Here are the latest playing time projection changes for position players since April 22nd. Chandler Simpson’s excellent first week should help solidify him as the starting center fielder for the rest of the season and beyond.
Below are the latest pitcher playing time projection changes since last Friday. As always, a lot of reliever shuffling!
Here are the latest playing time projection changes for position players since April 15th. Get ready for Nick Kurtz’s debut on Wednesday!
Below are the latest pitcher playing time projection changes since last Friday, headlined by Justin Steele’s season-ending elbow surgery:
Here are the latest playing time projection changes for position players since April 8th, highlighted by a couple of interesting prospects forcing their way to — or closer to — the majors.
Here are the latest pitcher playing time changes since last Friday, when I first took a look at playing time changes for the regular season.
| Pitcher | Team | Old % of Team’s Remaining Starts | New % of Team’s Remaining Starts | PT Change | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Gibson | BAL | 12% | 15% | +3% | Already pitching in minors, should be up soon |
| Osvaldo Bido | ATH | 10% | 13% | +3% | Strong start, stronger hold on SP spot |
| J.T. Ginn | ATH | 8% | 11% | +3% | Likely Estes replacement |
| Justin Steele | CHC | 18% | 15% | -3% | IL’d with elbow tendonitis |
| Nestor Cortes | MIL | 13% | 10% | -3% | IL’d with flexor strain |
| Spencer Arrighetti | HOU | 16% | 12% | -4% | IL’d with fractured thumb |
| Blake Snell | LAD | 18% | 14% | -4% | IL’d with shoulder inflammation |
| Joey Estes | ATH | 12% | 7% | -5% | Got hit around, demoted |
| Reynaldo López | ATL | 11% | 3% | -8% | Shoulder cleanup, August return seems like best-case scenario |
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? |