Lineup Analysis (6/29/25)

American League

Angels

• Over the last week, Christian Moore hit .182/.240/.591 with 3 HR. On Wednesday, he moved up to bat second.

• LaMonte Wade Jr. (54 OPS+) started in five of the last six games.

Astros

• Against lefties, Jake Meyers bats cleanup.

• Cam Smith now bats fifth.

Athletics

• Lawrence Butler (.787 OPS vs RHP, .650 OPS vs LHP) sat against three of the last four lefties.

Blue Jays

• Since coming off the IL, Nathan Lukes started in five of six games, all against lefties.

• The manager is starting everyone every day or so, thereby killing everyone’s value. Addison Barger (121 OPS+) started in only three of five games. Myles Straw (82 OPS+) started in four of five games.

Guardians

• Lane Thomas started in nine of the last ten games (four against lefties). So far in June, he’s batting .244/.346/.444 with 3 HR.

• Daniel Schneemann (vs RHP) and Angel Martínez (vs LHP) are in a second base platoon.

Mariners

• Dominic Canzone (152 OPS+, 4 HR in 51 PA) started in four of the last five games, all against righties.

Orioles

• Dylan Carlson (92 OPS+) started in only four of the last eight games.

• Gary Sánchez started in the previous three games, with two coming as the DH.

Rangers

• All the platoons are still in place, so no available options to take advantage of.

Rays

• Christopher Morel (97 OPS+) and Jake Mangum (112 OPS+) split time in left field.

• Chandler Simpson (81 OPS+) started all three games in center field since being recalled from AAA.

Red Sox

• Romy Gonzalez (vs LHP) and Abraham Toro (vs RHP) form a first base platoon.

• The team is already moving Marcelo Mayer to second base, and Nate Eaton is playing third base.

Royals

• Nick Loftin (69 OPS+), John Rave (47 OPS+), Drew Waters (75 OPS+), Mark Canha (59 OPS+), and Kyle Isbel (71 OPS+) split time in two outfield spots. Loftin sometimes plays in the infield.

• Freddy Fermin (catcher-qualified) started in nine of the 15 games.

Tigers

• Jahmai Jones (vs LHP) and Kerry Carpenter (vs RHP) are in a DH platoon.

• Colt Keith (106 OPS+), Spencer Torkelson (126 OPS+), Javier Báez (123 OPS+), Trey Sweeney (69 OPS+), and Zach McKinstry (125 OPS+) are splitting two spots. I was surprised to see Torkelson sitting in two of the last five games, but he is batting .152/.256/.303 over the past two weeks.

Twins

• Another team with too many “regulars”, so the bottom half of the order doesn’t regularly start.

• Kody Clemens continues to only start against righties.

White Sox

• Some minor injuries make it tough to figure out what exactly is going on.

• Josh Rojas and Mike Tauchman don’t start against lefties.

Yankees

• Giancarlo Stanton (121 wRC+) hasn’t started two games in a row yet.

• To no one’s surprise, DJ LeMahieu (81 OPS+) is struggling at the plate and has only started in five of the last eight games.

• Jasson Domínguez (108 OPS+) and Trent Grisham (132 OPS+) sit regularly because there are too many outfielders.

National League

Braves

• Alex Verdugo (68 OPS+) moved down to batting seventh. Additionally, he only started in two of the last four games, with Eli White (83 OPS+) starting instead.

Brewers

• Not much movement after a couple of weeks of turmoil.

Cardinals

• Lars Nootbaar (vs RHP) and Thomas Saggese (vs LHP) are in a platoon with Brendan Donovan moving between second base and the outfield.

• Victor Scott II, who has seen his wRC+ drop each month (110 to 82 to 69), is starting to sit against lefties.

Cubs

• No changes.

Diamondbacks

• With Corbin Carroll hurt, Geraldo Perdomo is leading off. Additionally, Jake McCarthy (-23 OPS+) is playing right field in Carroll’s absence.

Dodgers

• No changes.

Giants

• Wilmer Flores (102 OPS+) and Dominic Smith (129 OPS+) are splitting time at first base.

• Since Tyler Fitzgerald was demoted, Christian Koss (68 OPS+) and Brett Wisely (1 OPS+) split time at second base.

Marlins

• Eric Wagaman sat in four of the last six games.

• Catcher qualified, Liam Hicks (.279/.365/.441, 4 HR) has started in five of the last six games, only one at catcher.

Mets

• Playing time at third base is going to get tight with Mark Vientos coming off the IL. Sounds like Brett Baty, and he will split time.

Is Vientos going to be the everyday third baseman? That remains to be seen, according to manager Carlos Mendoza. It sounds like Vientos and Brett Baty will be rotating at third base. Vientos will also likely see time at designated hitter.

“The way I see it is we have to work the pieces and put everything in place. There are going to be a few spots in the lineup that are going to be rotating,” Mendoza said. “I think that’s a good problem to have, the way I see it.

“I’ve been saying this since day one — talking about depth, how good our team is because of the quality and the quantity that we have. There will be at-bats for everyone in there. … We’ll make sure we communicate with them on a daily basis and they understand that we are here to win baseball games.”

Nationals

• Alex Call (vs LHP) and Daylen Lile (vs RHP) are in a right field platoon.

Padres

• An injury to Xander Bogaerts (shoulder) has some spots in flux, but otherwise, the lineup has been stable.

Phillies

• Otto Kemp (72 OPS+) started in left field against the last three lefties with Max Kepler heading to the bench and Buddy Kennedy playing first base.

Pirates

• No changes

Reds

• Matt McLain hit second in the last four games.

• Over the last 10 games, Christian Encarnacion-Strand has only started in six games while batting .233/.276/.405 on the season.

• Gavin Lux (.421 vs LHP, .815 vs RHP) sat against the last two lefties. Santiago Espinal is facing lefties instead.

Rockies

• Tyler Freeman hit leadoff over the last five games.

• Brenton Doyle only started in three of the last five games. When he sat, it was against righties. On the season, he has a .462 OPS against righties and .895 OPS against lefties. For his career, it’s a .649 OPS against lefties and .707 against righties.