Lineup Analysis (7/1/22)

American League

Angels

• David MacKinnon (.599 OPS in the majors, 1.056 OPS in AAA) and Tyler Wade are splitting time at third base.

• Luis Rengifo (.872 OPS over the two weeks) has slowly been moving up the lineup.

Astros

• Several injuries (Brantley, Alvarez, Pena) have the lineup influx over the last few days.

• Jake Meyers (.524 OPS in 21 PA) has started six straight since coming off the IL while batting eighth or ninth.

Athletics

• Nick Allen (.250/.339/.385, 1 HR, 1 SB) has started in nine of 10 games while mainly batting ninth. In 206 AAA PA, Allen stole 10 bases.

• Stephen Piscotty (.649 OPS) has started three straight games while batting in the heart of the lineup since coming off the IL.

Blue Jays

• Steady.

• Cavan Biggio (.743 OPS, 2 HR, 1 SB) has started in just six of the last 10 games.

Guardians

• Josh Naylor (.940 OPS vs RHP, .540 OPS vs LHP) has sat against four of the last five lefties.

• Whenever Steven Kwan (.801 OPS in June) starts, he is batting leadoff. He has sat against the last three lefties (.656 OPS vs LHP, .765 OPS vs RHP).

• Oscar Gonzalez (.638 OPS over the last two weeks) has dropped from batting cleanup to seventh.

Mariners

• Carlos Santana (.675 OPS, 4 HR) has hit fourth or fifth since joining the team.

• Sam Haggerty (.742 OPS, 2 SB) has started two straight with Taylor Trammell (hamstring) on the IL. In AAA, Haggerty was hitting .283/.369/.500 with 6 HR and 15 SB.

Orioles

• The 23-year-old Jonathan Araúz (.342 MLB OPS, 1.084 AAA OPS). He has no power and speed and needed a .714 BABIP to make his AAA number look legit.

Rangers

• Josh H. Smith (.258/.439/.290, 0 HR, 2 SB) has leadoff in three of the last four games but sat against a lefty starter.

• Leody Taveras (.289/.325/.395, 1 HR, 1 SB) has started in just seven of the last 10 games

Rays

• Isaac Paredes (.243/.305/.598, 11 HR, 0 SB) has started five straight.

• Harold Ramirez (.306/.357/.406, 3 HR, 3 SB) has started four straight, two against righties.

Red Sox

• Steady.

• Jackie Bradley Jr. (.55S OPS, .423 OPS in June) has started in eight of the last 10 games.

Royals

• The bottom half is in flux with Perez on the IL, Olivares off the IL, Santana traded away, and Pasquantino called up.

• Hunter Dozier (.251/.318/.412, 7 HR, 2 SB) has started in nine of the last ten games.

• Edward Olivares (.308/.345/.500, 2 HR, 2 SB) has sat against two of the three righties since coming off the IL.

• Vinnie Pasquantino has hit fifth or sixth since being called up from AAA where he was hitting .280/.372/.576 with 18 HR and 3 SB.

Tigers

• The team has been using a versus righty and a versus lefty lineup.

• Eric Haase (.215/.264/.388, 5 HR) is starting every other day at catcher.

• Victor Reyes (vs RHP and leads off) and Willi Castro (vs LHP) are in a platoon.

• Robbie Grossman (.254/.328/.407, 2 HR, 0 SB in June) leads off against lefties.

Twins

• Jose Miranda (.692 OPS) wasn’t playing every day but has moved to first base in the last three games. Alex Kirilloff (.635 OPS) has moved to the outfield and Nick Gordon (.687 OPS) is now on the bench.

• Gilberto Celestino (.696 OPS, 0 HR, 0 SB) has started four straight while batting ninth.

White Sox

• Gavin Sheets (.642 OPS in 2022, .906 OPS over the past two weeks) has started seven straight games, six in the outfield.

• AJ Pollock (.641 OPS, .491 OPS the past two weeks) has started in only seven of the last 10 games.

• Jake Burger (.523 OPS in June) hasn’t started for three straight games and he has no reported injury.

Yankees

• It’s the same nine-man rotation for the eight non-catcher spots.

National League

Braves

• Consistent.

• Travis d’Arnaud (.806 OPS, 11 HR) has hit second for four straight with Ronald Acuña Jr. out (foot).

Brewers

• Tyrone Taylor (.694 OPS, 9 HR, 1 SB) has made 13 straight starts.

• Jace Peterson (vs RHP) and Mike Brosseau (vs LHP) are in a third base platoon.

Cardinals

• With Tyler O’Neill on the IL, Juan Yepez (.840 OPS, 9 HR) has started 10 straight games.

Cubs

• In the last two games, Christopher Morel (.868 OPS, .756 OPS in the past two weeks) is batting ninth. Rafael Ortega (.737 OPS, .905 OPS over the past two weeks) is leading off instead.

• David Bote (.769 OPS in 17 PA) has started in five of six games since coming off the IL.

Diamondbacks

• Buddy Kennedy (.644 OPS, 1 HR) has started four straight and is hitting in the middle third of the lineup.

Dodgers

• Steady except for injuries.

• One non-regular must play every game. Jake Lamb (5 PA) got the call in the last two games. The sub was Trayce Thompson (.778 OPS) in the five games before Lamb.

Giants

• This lineup is such a mess with several guys coming and going and everyone seemly in a platoon.

• Brandon Belt (vs RHP) and Darin Ruf 러프 (vs LHP) are in a first base platoon.

• LaMonte Wade Jr. is off the IL and hit leadoff in his first game back against a righty.

• Joc Pederson (.934 OPS, 17 HR) has started eight straight including two lefties (.804 OPS vs LHP, .954 OPS vs RHP).

Marlins

• It’s unknown what the lineup is going to be going forward with Jorge Soler and Jazz Chisholm Jr. going on the IL and Joey Wendle and Brian Anderson coming off it.

Mets

• James McCann (.504 OPS) has been the starting catcher in three of the last four games since coming off the IL.

• Dominic Smith (vs RHP) and J.D. Davis (vs LHP) are in a platoon.

Nationals

• Ehire Adrianza (vs RHP) and Maikel Franco (vs LHP) are in a third base platoon.

Padres

• Luke Voit (.741 OPS) and Jorge Alfaro (.794 OPS) might see a drop in at-bats with Manny Machado likely being the DH for the time being.

• Ha-Seong Kim 김하성 (.622 OPS in June) has started 13 straight games.

Phillies

• Darick Hall (.269/.346/.548, 20 HR, 5 SB in AAA) has hit cleanup in the last two games. Also, he’s hit two home runs so far.

• Matt Vierling (.690 OPS), Mickey Moniak (.325 OPS), and Odúbel Herrera (.673 OPS) are splitting one outfield spot with the promotion of Hall.

Pirates

• Bligh Madris (.795 OPS) has started in nine of the last 11 games and hit third in the last two.

• For some reason I can not comprehend, Josh VanMeter (.613 OPS, 3 HR, 2 SB) has started four straight games. VanMeter might be on the strong side of a platoon with Michael Chavis (.704 OPS, 8 HR) the facing lefties.

Reds

• Stable with just one spot cycling through a handful of players.

Rockies

• Elehuris Montero (.408 OPS) has started at third base in two of the last four games in place of a healthy Ryan McMahon (.698 OPS). In AAA, Montero hit .327/.395/.563 with 13 HR and 3 SB.

• With Kris Bryant coming off the IL, the outfield is a little crowded and it’s not obvious how the playing time will work out going forward.