Lineup Analysis (4/16/21)

American League

Angels

• With Anthony Rendon hurt, there have been some insignificant changes.

• Jared Walsh has started three straight games in the outfield.

Astros

• The lineup was consistent until almost everyone ended up on the COVID IL.

• Kyle Tucker (.204/.241/.510) has slowly moved down the lineup from fourth to seventh.

Athletics

• Stephen Piscotty (.865 OPS) has started three straight but that should end when Chad Pinder returns from the IL.

• Jed Lowrie (.977 OPS) is now batting second or third.

Blue Jays

• Steady with Randal Grichuk hitting cleanup and Josh Palacios hitting ninth.

Indians

• There are a few things going on. First, Amed Rosario is slowly being worked into center field (four games so far).

• Jordan Luplow continues to lead off against lefties.

• Jake Bauers (vs RHP) and Yu Chang (vs LHP) are in a first base platoon.

Mariners

• Evan White (vs LHP) and José Marmolejos (vs RHP) are in a first base platoon.

• Luis Torrens (.612 OPS) has started seven straight, three as the DH.

• Dylan Moore (.535 OPS) is moving down the lineup.

Orioles

• DJ Stewart (.783 OPS) has hit second in two of the last three games.

• Maikel Franco (.669 OPS) has started every game this year and is now hitting in the middle third.

• Ryan Mountcastle has moved from the cleanup to the sixth spot in the lineup.

Rangers

• Adolis Garcia has started three straight games while hitting cleanup in the last two.

• Charlie Culberson has started three straight at third with an OPS over 1.000 on the season.

• Jose Trevino (.767 OPS) hits in the top half of the lineup.

Rays

• The big change here is that Yoshi Tsutsugo no longer leads off (or regularly plays) against righties with everyone else moving up a spot.

• Yandy Diaz has moved off third to first and started eight of the last nine games.

• It looks like they’ll platoon lineups, but they’ve only faced two lefty starters this year.

Red Sox

• The bottom half of the lineup is a big timeshare with Christian Arroyo, Franchy Cordero, Bobby Dalbec, and Marwin Gonzalez fighting over two spots.

• Arroyo is hitting .313/.333/.500 so he might start seeing more playing time.

Royals

• Eerily consistent. It might be the reason they are currently seven and four.

Tigers

• Wilson Ramos (1.043 OPS) has gone from batting seventh to third.

• Akil Baddoo (1.172 OPS) is still batting seventh or eighth.

• Renato Núñez (.917 OPS) has started five straight games with Miguel Cabrera on the IL.

Twins

• A complete nightmare over the last five days with players coming and going from the roster.

• Luis Arraez (.830 OPS) has started seven straight games.

White Sox

• With Tim Anderson back, Luis Robert (.789 OPS) has moved back to his normal seventh spot.

• Yermín Mercedes (1.307) is entrenched in the 5th spot.

Yankees

• The team has moved on from Jay Bruce (.429 OPS). They’ve slid DJ LeMahieu over to first and Rougned Odor has been playing second.

• Gary Sánchez (.265/.375/.471) has gone from batting seventh to cleanup.

National League

Braves

• Ozzie Albies (.590 OPS) has moved down to the fifth spot.

• Austin Riley (.451 OPS) has no extra-base hits yet.

Brewers

• It has turned into one big mess with several players going to the IL.

• Avisaíl García has started 10 of 12 games and is now batting cleanup.

• With Kolten Wong out, Daniel Vogelbach has started and hit second in three of the last four games.

Cardinals

• Management has failed since the team has resorted to starting Matt Carpenter for three straight games.

Cubs

• The lineup hasn’t moved because no one is forcing any changes. Looking at anyone with MLB at-bats, Kris Bryant (.936 OPS) and Willson Contreras (.810 OPS) are the only hitters with an OPS over .660.

Diamondbacks

• Tim Locastro (.672 OPS, 3 SB) has led off for seven straight games.

• With Christian Walker out, Wyatt Mathisen has started two games at first base. The 27-year-old right-handed hitter has shown some minor league power (23 HR in 2019 AAA) but that’s about it. He doesn’t seem to be a must-add.

Dodgers

• A complete mess with several players hurt, some coming back. They even started something called a Luke Raley.

• Does it really matter though? They are just going to crush everyone.

• Zach McKinstry (.933 OPS, 3 HR) has started nine of the last 10 games.

Giants

• There are two distinct platoon lineups. Besides a complete cluster $#%#$ in center field, Tommy La Stella and Brandon Belt face righties, and Donovan Solano and Wilmer Flores face lefties.

Marlins

• It has been steady but I could see Jazz Chisholm (.258/.385/.613, 3 SB) hit leadoff in place of Corey Dickerson (.263/.333/.368)

Mets

• Michael Conforto (.473 OPS) has dropped from batting 3rd to 6th with Dominic Smith (.812 OPS) batting third and starting in seven straight games.

• With J.D. Davis out, Jonathan Villar and Luis Guillorme are splitting time at third.

Nationals

• The team is finally getting all its players off the IL.

• Josh Harrison (1.388 OPS) has started four straight at second base and is now batting fifth.

• Victor Robles (.567 OPS) has been moved to the ninth spot with the pitcher batting eighth.

• It’ll be interesting to see how much Ryan Zimmerman (.839 OPS) cuts into Josh Bell’s (.657 OPS) playing time.

Padres

• Tommy Pham (.445 OPS) has gone from leading off to batting 4th or 5th since Trent Grisham has returned from the IL.

• Jurickson Profar (.753 OPS) has started 11 straight games while hitting second in five of the last seven games.

Phillies

• Andrew McCutchen (righty) has sat twice with Matt Joyce (lefty) taking his spot.

• Roman Quinn (.248 OPS) and Adam Haseley (.429 OPS) are splitting time in center.

Pirates

• The lineup is so bad, the team keeps trying to fit Kevin Newman and his .409 OPS in the top two spots. At some point, Newman will head to the bench.

• Phillip Evans and his 1.076 OPS have been entrenched in the top four spots.

Reds

• Since Jesse Winker has returned, he has started every game. Tyler Naquin has started just one with Nick Senzel sitting during the other one.

• Besides the outfield shuffle, it’s consistent.

Rockies

• Ugly

• Ryan McMahon (1.075 OPS) or Raimel Tapia (.619) have hit second in the last seven games.