Lineup Analysis (8/28/26)

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August 28, 2026

Pablo Robles-Imagn Images

Note: Any noted rostership rates come from the NFBC RotoWire Online Championship, the same rates we use on the FanGraphs Player Rater. For reference, these leagues are 12-team Roto leagues with 30-man rosters (2 C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, MI, CI, 5 OF, UT, 9 P) and weekly add/drops. This rate can be compared to other rostership rates found in this article.

American League

Angels

• Over the last six games, Vaughn Grissom moved up to hit either third or fourth.

• Jose Siri (vs LHP) and Gustavo Campero (vs RHP) were in a platoon, but Campero is now on the IL, so Siri may get full-time at-bats.

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• Christian Moore (.639 OPS since being recalled) started five straight games at second base.

Astros

• No changes.

Athletics

• The 27-year-old Alika Williams (.720 OPS) was promoted to play shortstop with 32-year-old Donovan Walton (.814 OPS) moving over to second base.

Blue Jays

• Charles McAdoo (vs LHP) and Andrés Giménez (vs RHP) form a middle infield platoon.

• The outfield playing time is a mess. No one starts every game. Jesús Sánchez (vs RHP) and Daz Cameron (LHP) form a left field platoon. Brett Bateman, Myles Straw, and Nathan Lukes split time at the other two spots.

Guardians

• Angel Genao (.726 OPS) is shortstop qualified but already has eight games at second base and seven at third base.

Mariners

• The infield is a bit of an unknown with J.P. Crawford (.673 OPS, 10 HR) coming off the IL and playing a game at short and third so far.

Orioles

• Christian Encarnacion-Strand (.835 OPS, 7 HR in 118 PA) with five straight starts. Maybe this time he’ll stick.

• With Tyler O’Neill hurt, Dylan Beavers (.722 OPS, 6 HR, 5 SB) and Colton Cowser (.691 OPS, 12 HR, 8 SB) only have one hitter (Christian Franklin) stealing at-bats from them against lefties.

Rangers

• Cody Freeman (.665 OPS, 0 HR, 0 SB) started seven straight games.

Rays

• Jonny DeLuca (.736 OPS, 8 HR, 14 SB) may have broken out of his platoon with seven straight starts, including righties and lefties.

Red Sox

• Mickey Gasper (.830 OPS, 5 HR) started in eight of nine games, all at DH.

Royals

• John Rave (.705 OPS, 3 HR, 4 SB) started four straight games, all against righties.

Tigers

• Hao-Yu Lee (.733 OPS, 7 HR) started seven straight games.

• Ben Malgeri (vs LHP) and Zach McKinstry (vs RHP) form a right field platoon.

Twins

• It was stable, but the team just promoted top prospect Walker Jenkins, who could slide in for an injured Byron Buxton (hip).

White Sox

• Braden Montgomery (vs RHP) and Luisangel Acuña (vs LHP) form a shortstop platoon.

• Sam Antonacci (vs RHP) and Randal Grichuk (vs LHP) form an OF/DH platoon

Yankees

• With Cody Bellinger off the IL, Heliot Ramos sat over the last four games.

National League

Braves

• Sean Murphy’s (.496 OPS) role has expanded with five starts in the last nine games.

Brewers

• It’s tough to get a grasp of the lineups. The only player to target might be Luis Lara (.716 OPS, 1 HR, 3 SB in 135 PA), who started in 11 of the last 12 games.

Cardinals

• Ramón Urías (.605 OPS, 3 HR) started in three of four games since coming off the IL. With Urías and the promotion of Nolan Gorman, the infield playing time is a little jumbled.

Cubs

• Ian Happ (.527 OPS vs LHP, .829 OPS vs RHP) sat against the last two lefties with Tyrone Taylor starting instead.

• Matt Shaw came off the IL, but didn’t start against a righty on Friday.

Diamondbacks

• Jordan Lawlar (career .698 OPS vs LHP, .549 OPS vs RHP) has started against just one righty since coming off the IL.

• With Ketel Marte doing his own thing, Ildemaro Vargas (.692 OPS, 9 HR) started in 10 straight games.

Dodgers

• With Andy Pages on the IL, Alex Call (.690 OPS) and Alek Thomas (.547 OPS) split time in center field.

Giants

• Osleivis Basabe (vs LHP) and Nate Furman (vs RHP) form a second base platoon.

• Christian Koss (.506 OPS) moved over to shortstop with Willy Adames on the IL. Koss started in 19 straight games. Shay Whitcomb (.563 OPS) now starts at third base.

Marlins

• While normally a strong-side platoon bat, Griffin Conine (.847 OPS, 14 HR) started against three of the last four lefties.

• Over the last 10 games, Agustín Ramírez started seven times, all as the DH.

• Javier Sanoja (.738 OPS) started in nine of the last 10 games (5 vs LHP, 4 vs RHP).

Mets

• No changes.

Nationals

• Jacob Young (.713 OPS, 10 HR, 17 SB) with nine starts in 10 games.

• The team faced 11 straight righty starters with Andrés Chaparro (.888 OPS, 9 HR) starting in seven of those games.

• Brady House (.685 OPS) still doesn’t have a full-time gig with just six starts in the last nine games.

Padres

• Gavin Sheets (.073 OPS), Luis Rengifo (.817), Austin Hays (.683), and Dustin Harris(.833 OPS) split time in left field and as the DH.

Phillies

• No changes.

Pirates

• Esmerlyn Valdez started in just four of the last six games. He’s struggled in August by batting .203/.356/.304 with 1 HR and 43% K%.

• With Oneil Cruz off the IL, Jake Mangum (.719 OPS, 4 HR, 21 SB) started in only four of the last seven games.

• Catcher-qualified Rafael Flores Jr. started in 11 of the last 13 games.

Reds

• Dane Myers (.719 OPS, 5 HR, 9 SB in 263 OPS) started in eight of nine games.

• Ivan Johnson (.307 OPS), TJ Friedl (.476 OPS), and Héctor Rodríguez (.731 OPS) share one outfield spot.

Rockies

• Jordan Beck (vs LHP) and Zac Veen (vs RHP) form an outfield platoon. Since being recalled, Veen has a .766 OPS and 2 HR in 28 PA.

• Troy Johnston (.760 OPS) only starts against righties.

• Connor Norby (.697 OPS, 6 HR, 8 SB in 287 PA) started five straight games.





 

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.

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