Lineup Analysis (5/1/26)

by
May 1, 2026


Brad Penner-Imagn Images

American League

Angels

• Oswald Peraza (vs LHP) and Yoán Moncada (vs RHP) are back in a third base platoon.

• Daniel Johnson (.466 OPS) and Brice Matthews (.649 OPS) split time in centerfield.

Astros

• Dustin Harris (.596 OPS) started in seven of the last nine games.

You Aren't a FanGraphs Member
It looks like you aren't yet a FanGraphs Member (or aren't logged in). We aren't mad, just disappointed.
We get it. You want to read this article. But before we let you get back to it, we'd like to point out a few of the good reasons why you should become a Member.
1. Ad Free viewing! We won't bug you with this ad, or any other.
2. Unlimited articles! Non-Members only get to read 10 free articles a month. Members never get cut off.
3. Dark mode and Classic mode!
4. Custom player page dashboards! Choose the player cards you want, in the order you want them.
5. One-click data exports! Export our projections and leaderboards for your personal projects.
6. Remove the photos on the home page! (Honestly, this doesn't sound so great to us, but some people wanted it, and we like to give our Members what they want.)
7. Even more Steamer projections! We have handedness, percentile, and context neutral projections available for Members only.
8. Get FanGraphs Walk-Off, a customized year end review! Find out exactly how you used FanGraphs this year, and how that compares to other Members. Don't be a victim of FOMO.
9. A weekly mailbag column, exclusively for Members.
10. Help support FanGraphs and our entire staff! Our Members provide us with critical resources to improve the site and deliver new features!
We hope you'll consider a Membership today, for yourself or as a gift! And we realize this has been an awfully long sales pitch, so we've also removed all the other ads in this article. We didn't want to overdo it.

Athletics

• Zack Gelof (.593 OPS) started in eight of the last ten games.

• With Max Muncy on the IL, Darell Hernaiz (.674 OPS) started five straight games at third base.

• Colby Thomas (vs LHP) and Carlos Cortes (vs RHP) form an outfield/DH platoon.

Blue Jays

• Yohendrick Pinango (.857 OPS in AAA, 7 PA in the majors) and Davis Schneider (.541 OPS) are sharing an outfield spot.

• George Springer is off the IL and will remove the DH option for several hitters.

Guardians

• Daniel Schneemann (.955 OPS, 4 HR, 2 SB) started in eight of the last 10 games.

• Travis Bazzana hit seventh in the two games played since he was promoted. Juan Brito (.505 OPS) was optioned to Triple-A.

Mariners

• Leo Rivas (vs RHP) and Will Wilson (vs LHP) form a third base platoon.

Orioles

• The outfield remains unsettled with Colton Cowser (.489 OPS), Leody Taveras (.852 OPS), Dylan Beavers (.645 OPS), and Tyler O’Neill (.640 OPS) battling over two spots.

Rangers

• With Wyatt Langford out, Evan Carter (.642 OPS) starts every game, including against lefties.

• Alejandro Osuna (vs RHP) and Sam Haggerty (vs LHP) form a left field platoon.

• Ezequiel Duran (.778 OPS) and Josh Smith (.523 OPS) split time at second base.

Rays

• Richie Palacios (.654 OPS) and Ben Williamson (.656 OPS) split time at second base.

Red Sox

• No changes

Royals

• Michael Massey (.635 OPS) started 11 straight games at second base, but Nick Loftin (.733 OPS) started in two of the last three.

• Jac Caglianone (vs RHP) and Starling Marte (vs LHP) form a right field platoon.

Tigers

• Hao-Yu Lee (vs LHP) and Colt Keith (vs RHP) form a third base platoon.

• Matt Vierling (.657 OPS) with five starts in the last six games.

Twins

• Austin Martin (.899 OPS) is taking some playing time away from the struggling Matt Wallner (.559 OPS).

White Sox

• Sam Antonacci (.225/.347/.425, 0 SB, 2 CS) gets buried at the bottom of the lineup or doesn’t play against lefties.

• Derek Hill (career .521 OPS vs RHP, .788 OPS vs LHP) only starts against lefties.

• Luisangel Acuña (.444 OPS, 6 SB, 0 HR) started five times in the last 10 games.

Yankees

• Jasson Domínguez (.311 OPS) with three straight starts while Giancarlo Stanton is on the IL.

National League

Braves

• No changes.

Brewers

• The lineup is a tough one to get any value from. Probably the best way would be to add Garrett Mitchell and Jake Bauers if the team is scheduled to face several righties.

Cardinals

• No changes

Cubs

• Moisés Ballesteros (1.012 OPS) hit second in the last two games. He has started against two of the last four lefties. In a corresponding move, Michael Busch moved down to fifth.

Diamondbacks

• Adrian Del Castillo (.608 OPS, 2 HR) starts against righties and bats fourth or fifth. Also, he has nine games at catcher and should be qualified in all leagues with one more appearance at the position.

• Jose Fernandez’s (.819 OPS) playing time dropped because Ildemaro Vargas (1.087 OPS) has been starting at first base.

Dodgers

• Dalton Rushing (7 HR, .1.271 OPS) started in seven of the last 10 games.

• Max Muncy (.287/.374/.594, 9 HR) started against two of the last three lefties.

• Hyeseong Kim 김혜성 (.296/.371/.389, 1 HR, 5 SB) with nine straight starts.

Giants

• Drew Gilbert (.753 OPS) started as the centerfielder in 13 of the last 14 games.

• Heliot Ramos (.749 OPS) hit leadoff in the last two games.

Marlins

• Graham Pauley (.568 OPS) and Javier Sanoja (.753 OPS) are splitting time at third base.

Mets

• MJ Melendez (1.061 OPS, 2 HR) started in four straight games while batting between 3rd and 5th in the lineup.

• Ronny Mauricio (.385 OPS) started against all right-handed pitchers since being promoted.

• Brett Baty (.566 OPS) with seven straight starts while batting in the middle of the lineup.

Nationals

• No changes.

Padres

• Ty France (.911 OPS) started in five of the last six games.

• Luis Campusano (1.054 OPS, 3 HR) started in three of the last four games at catcher.

• Miguel Andujar (.830 OPS) also started in three of the last four games.

Phillies

• No changes.

Pirates

• Marcell Ozuna started only three times in the last six games.

• Nick Yorke (vs LHP) and Spencer Horwitz (vs RHP) appear to be in a platoon.

Reds

• TJ Friedl (vs RHP) and Dane Myers (vs LHP) form a centerfield platoon.

• Nathaniel Lowe (1.027 OPS) started in seven straight games as the DH with Eugenio Suárez on the IL.

• Rece Hinds (vs LHP) and JJ Bleday (vs RHP) form an outfield platoon.

Rockies

• The team is going full Rays/Brewers with maximized platoon lineups, so few guys get every day at-bats.

• Kyle Karros (.602 OPS) is slowly moving up the lineup, or others are moving down.





 

Jeff, one of the authors of the fantasy baseball guide,The Process, writes for RotoGraphs, The Hardball Times, Rotowire, Baseball America, and BaseballHQ. He has been nominated for two SABR Analytics Research Award for Contemporary Analysis and won it in 2013 in tandem with Bill Petti. He has won four FSWA Awards including on for his Mining the News series. He's won Tout Wars three times, LABR twice, and got his first NFBC Main Event win in 2021. Follow him on Twitter @jeffwzimmerman.

2 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
SculpinMember since 2025
17 days ago

The Mariners Will Wilson broke his thumb, so he will not be platooning at 3B with Leo Rivas. Rivas, who hit really well last year, has struggled at the plate so far this year.

Now a little fun Sunday morning trivia: is there anyone out there in a league so big that any of this matters?

0